Something Other Than Books
by Hyrule Master
Summary: Timid Len Kagamine is a studious bookworm who transferred into Yamaha Academy. How will his school life change when he finds himself recruited into a club who call themselves the Vocaloids and caught in high school gossip, drama, love...and Rin Kagamine?
1. The First Day of Something New

_**A/N:**_** I'm back! It's summer break so I have more free time now. Unfortunately, though, I don't have much writing muse. This was actually several months in the making. I don't even know if I should be uploading this (it's...kinda poorly done in my opinion), but I thought I should give it a shot and see what you guys think. Read in 1/2 because it looks better. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Since the Vocaloids I'm using are Japanese, I tried to make this most similar to a Japanese school environment. But I have never been to or seen a Japanese school environment, so if there are inaccuracies, I apologize.  
**

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_**Chapter 1**_

_**The First Day of Something New...Or Terrifying?**_

-:-

Len Kagamine nervously clutched his admittance papers, squeezing tighter and tighter as both his arms pressed down on his chest. His knees were stiff from standing still for so long and aching from the tenseness in his body. Gulping, he continued to stare at the tall monstrosity before him, taking no note of the other students leisurely passing by. Then pursing his lips and gathering all the courage he had inside of him, Len pushed his thick, square-rimmed glasses up and took a step forward.

And thus began Len's first day at Yamaha Academy.

When Len finally took his place following the crowd of students, he eyed himself, triple-checking his appearance. He adjusted his tie to perfection and straightened his fully buttoned blazer to the tee. All the while he clumsily jostled his papers around until they escaped his grasp and fluttered to the ground.

"Oh, no!"

Len was immediately on his knees, gathering the scattered papers. He pushed up his glasses when he felt them slipping and reached out for the last paper.. However, he stopped when another hand had grabbed it before him.

"Watch it..."

Len looked up to see a girl staring down at him. Her skirt was just above the knee with her blazer unbuttoned and her tie a little crooked. But what struck Len the most about her appearance was her seemingly cold blue gaze accented by short, layered blonde hair framing her face. Her image was overall very intimidating, which is why he found it odd that a large, white bow crowned her head.

She placed a hand on her hip, growing impatient of something. It was then that Len scrambled to his feet and brushed off what dirt had gotten on him. The girl held the paper closer to him.

"Just don't drop it again, okay?"

"T-Thanks..." Len murmured as she walked off into the crowd of students.

Len blinked, still a little frightened, but she couldn't have been all that bad, right? She did help him pick up his papers...

"Or it was just one, but that's besides the point..." Len finished his thought and continued to walk forward toward the large school building.

The girl that had helped him lingered in Len's mind for a little longer. However, as he continued to walk forward, Len noticed just how unfamiliar everyone's face was and how unfamiliar his surroundings were, and slowly she slipped from his thoughts. Instead, Len began to dwell on what possibilities awaited him here, and what he would even do to find his place. To this, his heart began to beat faster and faster.

Len was the kind of person who did not take change well. The transition from middle school to high school was difficult enough, but transferring schools in the midst of his second year seemed to stretch him to his limit.

It was hard enough that he had to stand up in front of all the first years at his old school and give a speech, all because he scored first on the entrance exam. Imagine his reaction when his teachers approached him and urged him to transfer to the prestigious Yamaha Academy. He had to go through that entrance process all over again.

Yes, Len was quite an ambitious boy, scoring perfect scores on nearly all his tests in every subject. His teachers had approached him and urged him to transfer to a school with more opportunity.

"It would be a shame if all those skills went to waste," they had said.

So Len took the entrance exam to Yamaha Academy, passed it with flying colors, and was awarded a full scholarship. Now here he was, in a school he was unfamiliar with, wondering how he was going to adjust.

Len's nerves must have been going completely wild, because time seemed to blink by so quickly that he no sooner found himself stumbling into his classroom.

"Come in!"

Len wished the teacher was talking to some other student, but he knew that would be too ideal. Len took the verbal cue and hesitantly opened the door and shakily entered the classroom. He knew that since the moment he walked in all eyes were on him. There were whispers excitedly brushing the air as Len stood in front of the teacher who had just finished writing his name on the board. Even more whispers grew.

"This is Kagamine Len. He recently transferred here with a full scholarship!"

Len furrowed his eyebrows and puckered his lips. Was his teacher trying to embarrass him? The class let out a "oooohhh" in unison.

"Now Kagamine, would you like to introduce yourself?"

"He-Hello..." Len murmured, "My name is Kagamine Len and I will be attending Yamaha Academy as of today." He bowed deeply," Pleased to meet you."

Len shot right back up at the sound of the teacher's voice, "Now where are you going to sit? Ah, have a seat right next to Utatane there."

Len was so flustered that he did not take note of any of the student's faces. So when the teacher mentioned this Utatane, he had no idea who he was referring to. Instead, Len assumed that the first empty desk that he saw was his seat. Len's place was close to the front of the room, so he could feel a plethora of gazes burning into his back. With stiff shoulders, Len placed his bag at the side of his desk and stared at the front of the room. Eyes fixated on the teacher, he ignored the whispers around him.

For the next few hours, Len did well in listening to the lectures and somehow managed to shake off most of his flustered thoughts. The notes he had taken weren't quite as up to what he normally took, but at least he had managed to somehow get the bulk of the material. He would study them later after school, he thought. Things became less quiet during lunch, though.

"So, your name is Kagamine, right...?"

"Hmm?" Len was pulled away from the worksheet he was scribbling on, "Yes..."

It was a boy that stared back at him. He was crowned with oddly colored silver hair and possessed eyes that were of two different colors. As soon as Len responded, the boy's face brightened and he immediately stood up from his desk and hovered over Len. He shook Len's hand a mile a minute.

"Pleased to meet you! I'm Utatane Piko. You can call me Piko if you like. Is it okay if I call you Len?"

He spoke a mile a minute, too...

"Er... sure..."

Soon enough, Piko was not alone. Several other boys came to greet Len and took turns shaking his hand vigorously.

"It's so rare to have a student transfer here! And with top marks, no less!"

"Where did you go to school before?"

"You should join the astronomy club!"

"Are you by chance related to Kagamine Rin?"

This caught Len's attention away from the flustered thoughts he was having. Several of the boys surrounding him directed their attention toward someone else. Len followed their gazes and set his eyes on a very familiar-looking girl—it was the crowning white bow that had given her away. Subsequently, she turned her head and crossed her gaze with Len. It was only for a moment, though, because she puckered her lips and turned away.

Len felt something throb in his chest like something had stabbed it while cold sweat formed on his brow.

"N-no, I'm not." Len responded, "I think I'm going to go buy some bread."

He then quickly stood up from his desk and squeezed his way out of the crowd that surrounded him. Len basically fell out of the classroom, gripping his knees and breathing heavily. After collecting himself, Len pushed his glasses up and began walking down the hall. A group of girls that passed snickered at him and he frowned. Then he realized...

Where do you buy bread?

"Hey!"

Len turned around to see the silver-haired boy, Piko, rushing after him. He found himself somewhat relieved.

"So..." Len started.

"Hm?"

"Where do you buy bread?"

-:-

"All the flavored ones are gone..."

"Well, you have to get here quickly or else you don't get any." Piko chuckled.

Len settled with what was left and bought a loaf with Piko following suit. Both of them then began to walk back toward the classroom. The only sort of conversation that happened between them for a while was the sound of rustling plastic and chewing.

"Sorry about before," Piko began.

"Hm?" Len's mouth was full.

"I got a little too excited. But it's not every day that a new transfer student comes, you know? A new student is exciting to us."

Len swallowed his mouthful and smiled, "It's okay. I just hope I'm not nearly mauled again."

Piko laughed. There was another silence between them, so Piko decided to initiate small talk.

"So have you decided what club to join yet?"

"Club?"

"Yeah! It's part of student life, of course you should join one!"

"Umm... I haven't really thought of it."

Even though he probably didn't need it, Len had dedicated nearly the entirety of his free time to studying. So he ended up never joining a club at his old high school, or even during middle school. He ended up reading about a lot of activities, though.

"I want to join the Vocaloids! That would be so cool..." Piko suddenly cut in.

"Vocaloids?"

"It's formally known as the Chorus Club, but they do much more than just sing. It's become a sort of prestigious group."

"Then why don't you just join?"

A gloom hovered over Piko, "My application got rejected."

Len wore a nervous smile as he heard Piko murmur incomprehensible things. He heard the words, "voice" and "not good enough." But he quickly regained his spirits, clenched his fists, and looked upwards, "But I'm going to keep trying!"

Len and Piko were now approaching the classroom, tossing their wrappers in the closest garbage can they could find. The rest of their conversation was centered around this "Vocaloid" group. Piko kept urging Len to submit an application, but the boy kept insisting that he didn't want to join any clubs.

Luckily when they had reached the classroom, the bell had rung, so everyone was walking toward their desks. This meant no mauling for Len. Breathing a small sigh of relief, Len scanned the classroom as he and Piko walked in. His eyes were immediately caught by the seemingly gargantuan white bow.

Rin was her name, he recalled...

She had turned her head and caught him staring at her. Instead of just looking away, she shot him what scarily resembled a death glare. Len quickly got into his seat then held his hands close to his legs and tensed his shoulders. He then slowly shifted his eyes to her again and leaned toward Piko who was pulling out his notes for the next class.

"W-what's with that girl?"

"Which one?" Piko seemed to begin eagerly searching the classroom.

"The one wearing the white bow. She sort of..._glared _at me."

"Oh," Piko slumped in his chair, "That's Kagamine Rin. Don't take it personally, she has that 'terrifying vibe' around her all the time."

Len looked at her again and this time caught her laughing and smiling nearly brightly with another girl that sat next to her. Looking at Piko again, he raised an eyebrow.

"Well... Only around guys really. That makes her hard to approach. I can't tell you how many guys she rejected for even just dates. But she's really pretty, huh? She's even part of the Vocaloids!"

"Huh..." Len looked at her again, curiosity aroused.

"What, are you falling for her?" Piko leaned closer, snickering.

"Huh?" Len's face became a light pink, "No, no, no, no! I was just wondering if I did something to upset her."

"Mmhm..." Piko leaned on his hand, "Say, maybe you're related to her? You do have the same last name."

"No, I'm an only child and I don't have very many relatives," Len nervously chuckled.

Piko began twiddling his fingers toward Len, "Maybe... she's your long lost, evil twin...!"

"Please stop it."

-:-

After the bell had rung and school dismissed for the day, Len stretched his arms in front of him. It had been a long day already. He began to slide all his books into his bag when he noticed someone over him. It was Piko.

"Where do you live?" Piko began, "Do you want to walk home together?"

"A-ah, thanks, but I'll pass... I want to go to the library and study."

Piko looked somewhat disappointed but nodded in understanding, "Do you know where it is?"

"I'm sure I can find it." Len smiled.

"Okay, then see you tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow."

Just as Piko left and as Len put his last book in his bag, the mauling crowd he feared stalked over to him.

"Hey, Kagamine, do you want to walk home together?"

"Do you want to come with us to get fast food?"

"Come watch us play tennis!"

"I-I'm sorry, but I can't!"

Len grabbed his bag and threw himself out of the room in a flurry. He had no idea where the library was, but he ran as if he knew where he was going. Little did he know that he ran closer and closer to something that would mark the beginning of something remarkable.

He had quickly begun to ascend some stairs, ignoring the outlandish looks he received. Len had just turned a corner when a force had suddenly stopped his frenzy. It had all happened so quickly that Len found himself suddenly on the ground. Pain throbbing on the back of his head, Len slowly sat up, his body aching.

In front of him, however, was someone far worse off.

It was another student, sprawled on the ascending steps nearly unconscious.

"Oooh..." He mumbled.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!" Len scurried over to him.

He looked like an older student... Maybe a third year. He was definitely much taller than Len and had hair that was a deep shade of blue. His eyes had fluttered for a moment before they closed.

"Are... Are you okay?" Len lightly shook him. No response.

The next thing Len knew was that he was sitting next to an unconscious third year in the nurse's office holding an ice pack to his own head. The pain was barely noticeable, however, because other things were on Len's mind.

"Oh my gosh, what if I... What if I killed him? That would make me a murderer! Oh my gosh, oh my..."

"Kaito!" A new voice resounded down the hall, "I heard you were in the nurse's office—"

Len looked up to find a twin-tailed, teal-haired girl staring back at him, looking in astonishment at the scene. She was silent for a moment, then walked in farther and pointed an accusing finger toward Len.

"You!"

"Y-Yes?" Len was trembling, his glasses slipping on the bridge of his nose.

"Did you do this?" The girl gestured toward the unconscious student.

"I-I didn't mean to!"

The girl put both hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes, "I hope you're prepared to take responsibility for this!"

* * *

_**A/N: **_**So, readers... was it any good? Is it worth continuing? Please review and let me know. :)**


	2. From Punishment To Recruitment

**_A/N: _I decided that I got enough feedback to submit the second chapter. Hopefully things get a little more interesting after this. Well, enjoy!  
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**Chapter 2**

**From Punishment To Recruitment**

-:-

"Take responsibility?" Len nearly whispered, trembling.

"Yes!" The twin tail replied

"D-do I need to pay for funeral expenses? Go to court? Subject myself to—"

"What? No... FAR worse! Do you know who you're dealing with here?"

Len tried to respond, but he ended up stammering incomprehensible sounds. The teal-haired girl responded as if she understood him.

"You see, Kaito here is part of the Chorus Club, otherwise known as the Vocaloids!"

"V-Vocaloids?" Len spoke the word as if it was referring to a terrible monster hunting him.

"Yes! The prestigious group of students who dedicate their time to performance! Talent in music, dance, and beautiful looks is what makes us up!" The twin-tailed girl slowly approached Len, as if she was a beast stalking its prey, "We happened to begin planning our next production..."

Len shrunk back in his seat as she drew closer and closer, pointing a finger at him. He could feel his glasses slip down on the bridge of his nose.

"You, sir, put Kaito out of commission."

The girl grasped Len by the collar, and stood him up from his chair. The ice pack that he carried dropped to the ground.

"You're standing in for him."

"W-What?"! But I—"

But the teal-haired girl was already in the process of dragging him out of the room. Leaving the unconscious student apparently named Kaito to himself, the two stormed out into the hall. One charged forward while the other dragged behind. Len could only vaguely register the path that they were taking with the initial shock running through him. The last thing he did manage to register, however, was the sign that read, "Music Room."

Doors slammed open, which seemed to cease a bustle of conversation. What seemed to be thousands of pairs of eyes all looked toward them.

"Hey, everyone!"

"What's the deal, Miku? You're awfully late. And what's with the kid?" A short-haired brunette spoke up.

"Sorry, I was dealing with your brother . Poor Kaito hit his head really bad and is in the nurse's office right now."

"Don't we have to rehearse?" A pink-haired girl pulled her nose out of a book.

"Yes, which is why I brought this one!" The twin tail, Miku, held Len out in front of her, "He's the reason why Kaito's in the nurse's office, so naturally he's filling in for him today."

"I-It was an accident!" Len's anxiety was escalating, "I didn't mean to bump into him!"

The brunette that was apparently Kaito's sister shot him a glare. Len bit his lip before the pink-haired girl spoke again, now standing up.

"What's his name?"

Len couldn't even reply. He began to stutter and mutter incomprehensibly before another voice interrupted him. He shot his head in the direction where it came from and immediately felt that much more nervous. All he saw was a white bow.

"His name is Kagamine Len. He's in my class." Rin muttered non-nonchalantly and a with a bit of... suspicion?

Miku's eyes widened, "Is he related to you, Rin?"

"Oh, heck no."

The pink-haired girl spoke up again, "Does he even know how to sing?"

"I-I know a thing or two about music... I studied the Suzuki method***** when I was little..."

"A thing or two is good enough! He has to receive his punishment!"

"Punishment..." Everyone had responded, uttering it in different ways. Some questioning, others firm (the brunette), and others terrified (Len).

Miku pushed Len amongst the members of the club who had already taken out sheets of paper, intently staring at them. They had set them on stands and had begun to set up amps, and other band equipment, making sure all cords were in order and the music before them was ready to be performed. Len found himself being handed a bass guitar and all he could think was, _thank goodness I know how to play bass_. He was moved into place amongst the equipment and the other members. When he finally got a chance to observe the members, Len couldn't deny that the club was made up of all very beautiful people. First there was Miku who looked like she could be some diva on the front of a magazine. There was the pink-haired girl, a positively elegant and fair person. The brunette, who was still glaring at Len, was very distinct in character and looks.

Finally, Len's eyes trailed towards the last person in the room. The massive white bow on her head gave her away—Rin. It was then that Len noticed just how pretty Rin was. It was no wonder that she was part of the Vocaloids—well, assuming that she had the other two defining traits or as Miku called them. But when Rin turned to look at him back, Len couldn't help but shiver.

Just then, Miku had interrupted his thoughts by shoving a piece of paper in his face. When Len was able to recover from the initial shock, he saw that it was sheet music. Miku spoke to the whole group now.

"Now, we still don't know who's going to sing this solo yet, but I guess we can take turns singing it. We'll decide who liked it the best afterwards, okay?"

"Sure." Nearly everyone chorused in unison.

"Do you want to go first, Miku?"

"I suppose." She stepped forward, taking her place next to the mic stand.

At this point, Len was frantically trying to read the tabs and notation in front of him. He fingered the most complex chords, hoping to high Heaven that they were right. It was the first time he had picked up an instrument in a while after all.

"Hey, did you turn on your amp?" Rin muttered.

"Huh?"

Before their conversation could continue, however, Luka on the drums had counted off and they had begun playing in a blink. Len, of course, wasn't ready and frantically switched the amp on before stumbling back into place. Len didn't catch up until they were in the middle of the second phrase. It didn't help that Miku had already started singing—he was taken aback by the tone of her voice. Len was sure to play quietly, so that the others around him, especially Rin, wouldn't criticize him. When Len was able to focus on the music, Miku had reached the chorus.

_Like fireworks_

_So I won't snuff out_

_I'll launch into the sky like a rocket..._

Miku's chorus was cut short by something that sounded like a horrible cluster chord. Len squeezed his eyes shut thinking they had stopped because of his playing. However...

"Miku... these lyrics are..." The pink-haired girl began.

"They..." Added the brunette.

"They suck." Rin's voice cut in.

Miku sighed as if she was expecting the whole thing. She threw her hands up and slapped them back down on her thighs.

"That's what happens when you assign me to write lyrics to a filler song and I don't have any inspiration."

"I think the chorus is the most messed up." Rin interjected once more.

Miku winced at Rin's bluntness and chuckled a bit, "Ouch. Well what would you suggest?"

"I don't think we should refer to fireworks directly... Or maybe use something else..."

"How about, 'like a lightning bolt?'" The brunette pointed a finger at Rin.

It was then that Len's mind started to go at work. _Maybe it should be..._

"That's too direct, maybe 'like a fire light.'" The pink-haired girl was fingering her drum sticks.

_Or perhaps..._

"No, that doesn't exactly ring. Maybe 'like a...'"

_That's it...!_

"Um..." Len's soft voice chimed in as he shyly raised his hand, "I have a suggestion..."

"Oh? The prisoner has a suggestion? Well, if you think you've got it, why don't _you_ sing it?"

Already irritated, Miku had the intention of completely embarrassing him as she ushered him closer to the stand. In her mind, this was still part of his "punishment." Len shifted his head side to side as he watched the other club members raise their eyebrows at him. Miku grabbed a hold of his bass.

"Here, I'll play the bass for you, Mr. I Think I Got It. Why don't we take it a measure or two before the chorus?"

Len was clutching onto the mic stand for dear life as Miku took her place within the band. They did not wait for Len to turn around and nod or give any sort of signal that he was ready. After four clicks from the drumsticks, music suddenly filled the silence. A drop of sweat rolled down Len's forehead as he clutched the mic tighter. He closed his eyes when the chorus came.

_Like a fire flower_

_So I won't get put out_

_My sparks will fly and I'll launch my dream_

_'I'm glad I didn't fall in love with you from the start'_

_Was the lie that followed_

His voice was shaking a little, but Len had mustered up as much power as he could to sing. It was almost as if his voice was waking from some deep slumber. Everyone had stopped playing, but Len still had his eyes squeezed shut.

Why had everyone stopped playing? Was his singing really that bad? He knew that It had been a while since he last sung like that, but was it really such a disaster? Len's eyes gradually cracked open.

"Miku..." Len was too flustered to make out who had just spoken.

The next moment, Len felt two hands grip his shoulders tightly. Len's eyes shot open to see Miku staring straight back at him with wide eyes and jaw dropped. Just as Len was about to apologize, Miku began talking a mile a minute.

"Where did you learn to sing like that? Why didn't you say that you were so good sooner?" Miku stuttered for a moment, then was interrupted by a timid-voiced Len.

"I...stopped playing in middle school when studying for entrance exams..."

"Well, I'm not letting that talent go to waste!" With her hands still on Len's shoulders, looked passed him at the other club members, "You should be the one to write the lyrics to this song! And we should get him to join our club."

There was a pause of stunned silence. The rest of the club members eyed each other as Miku stared intently at them while the glasses Len wore slipped down the bridge of his nose.

"Well, Miku..." The pink-haired student stepped away from the drum set and walked towards Len, "There are three things that make up a Vocaloid... Talent in music is a given, and he can probably learn to dance, but he's lacking when it comes to beautiful looks."

"He looks very tidy, but he's so plain-looking." The brunette was speaking now as she stood in front of Len as well, "The only thing he's got going for him is that dinky ponytail on the back of his head."

"The glasses aren't exactly helping either." Rin folded her arms while standing next to the brunette. She began to walk towards him, "And I bet he's one of those guys whose face looks even plainer when you take them off."

Rin was right in front of Len now and as she reached to take off his glasses, he stuttered. Ignoring his complaints, Rin grasped the frames of his glasses and in one motion, pulled them off his nose. Once she had brought his glasses down, she had come face to face with his eyes. Len stared at Rin for a moment, locked and frozen because one, she was just so _terrifying_, and two, her face was awfully close to his. Rin's eyes widened and for the first time, she showed an emotion past cold indifference towards Len. Her mouth opened a little, and he could have sworn that a light pink colored her cheeks. It wasn't long before Len's face began to turn a deep shade of red.

However, before anything else could happen, Rin was shoved out of the way and Len was met with the gazes of the other three members of the club. All were staring at him with awestruck eyes and dropped jaws—not to mention they were slightly blurry. The three of them then glanced between each other, seemingly communicating with telepathy—at least from Len's perspective—and nodded and snickered at each other. Miku then stepped forward and began to unbutton Len's jacket.

"W-What are you doing?" By the time he was finished speaking, his blazer was completely unbuttoned down, revealing the white of his shirt and his whole tie.

"Now un-tuck your shirt." The brunette ordered.

"B-But..."

"_Do it._" She insisted firmly.

Without another word, Len un-tucked his shirt, letting the bottom hem fall over his pants. His face was red and he was staring intently towards the ground, waiting in uncomfortable silence. Miku, the brunette, and the pink-haired girl all stared at him with their fingers on their lips, deep in thought. Then suddenly, the pink-haired girl pulled Len's chin up and ruffled the his hair, tousling his bangs. With that the three of them smiled.

"Now _that's_ a Vocaloid." The pink-haired girl smiled.

"Rin! What do you think?" Miku chimed towards the girl who had been off to the side.

Len, unaware of how he looked, turned toward Rin to find that she was just a blur with his glasses off. He squinted at her and leaned forward, trying to make out her form more clearly. The thing about her that he could most clearly make out was her white bow. He didn't know what kind of face she was making, but all he heard was her voice, a little quieter than usual say,

"He doesn't look bad..."

"Oh, if Rin approves then he _has_ to be a keeper. Welcome to the club!" Miku was speaking now. Len's eyes were torn away from Rin when he felt Miku seize his hand to shake it, "My name is Hatsune Miku, second year. I'm the president of the Vocaloids!"

Another hand took his. This time it was the pink-haired girl, "I'm Megurine Luka, second year. Pleased to meet you."

Afterward it was the brunette, "And I'm Meiko, third year! I'll forgive you for what you did to my brother, but only because I think he needs a good knocking in the head once in a while."

The next moment, Len could make out a teal shape pushing someone with a large white mass over to him. When the image became clearer, he could see Rin in front of him, still a little blurry, but features able to be seen. She shifted her eyes away from him for a moment and huffed, but the next moment a small smile curved her lips. Len couldn't help but feel something jump inside him—it was the first time she had smiled at him after all.

"I'm Kagamine Rin."

"She's not always like this." Miku smiled behind her, "She actually has quite the spunky attitude once you get to know her!"

Rin turned around to glare at Miku. The look didn't faze her at all, however, because at that moment her face brightened as she looked at Len.

"So... Kagamine Len, was it? Welcome to the Vocaloids!"

Len really wished he had his glasses. The blurriness all around him was making him a little dizzy, not to mention the mixture of emotions going through his head as well. He was part of the Vocaloids now? What does that mean for him? What was he getting into? At least he was saved from Miku's so-called "punishment."

"Well, do you have anything to say?" Miku leaned forward toward Len whose knees had just buckled.

"C-Can..."

"Hmm?"

"Can I have my glasses back?"

* * *

**Disclaimer: The lyrics for "Fire Flower" were taken from Animelyrics(dot)com. I did write the crappy adaptations of the lyrics, though. XD  
**

***_The Suzuki method is a music teaching method that was developed by Shin'ichi Suzuki. It's a method used with beginning students that are aged as early as three years old. In the beginning stages, students learn to play completely by ear without any notation. Some instruments that use the Suzuki method are string instruments, piano, and flute._**


	3. Questioning Len's Fashion Sense

**_A/N: _Another chapter! We're gradually getting out of the exposition/inciting event phase. XD; Enjoy!**_  
_

* * *

_Chapter 3_

_Questioning Len's Fashion Sense_

-:-

When Miku had realized that Len, in fact, couldn't see, she had permitted Rin to return him his glasses. Len gladly placed the thick set of square frames back on his nose and was relieved when his sight was clear again. However, as Len started to tuck his shirt back in and button up his blazer, Miku quickly slapped his hands.

"No, no. You have to wear your uniform like that from now on."

"Why?" Len almost whined.

"To be frank, you look a lot better that way." Meiko answered.

"We were going for the 'cool, spicy look.'" Luka looked around at the other members, who nodded along with her.

"But I'm not 'cool' or 'spicy!' Isn't how you look on the inside what really counts anyway?"

"True. Being beautiful on the inside is what counts." Miku began while circling Len, "But don't you think you're showing disrespect for yourself when you don't try to look your best, knowing that you can?"

Len opened his mouth to speak, but closed it shortly after when he couldn't think of a reply. He looked down at his disheveled uniform and flushed, being a little embarrassed. He puckered his lips and looked up from under his glasses.

"Oh, that reminds me," Miku started, perking up, "You have contacts, right?"

-:-

"So? What do you think of our newest member?" Miku chirped, twirling around to face Rin.

The two were on their way from school walking home together. The sky exhibited a deep shade of orange, Rin's favorite color. She was occupied staring at it until her best friend had drawn her away from it. Rin sighed and glanced at a rock they had passed on the side walk.

"Well, he's a guy...so I don't know."

Miku sighed and rolled her eyes, "Rin, not all guys are bad. I mean, did you see that kid? He looked like he couldn't win an arm wrestling match against a three year-old."

Rin chuckled a little and raised her hands, "I'm just saying. You never know with them."

Miku sighed once more and stood next to her friend, "I have to admit, though, I was kind of surprised when you didn't object much to letting him join—considering that it's you and all."

"Well, he's really good at singing."

Miku snickered and elbowed Rin, "But I saw that face when you took his glasses off."

"Stop it, Miku." Rin grunted angrily, only to hear Miku giggle in response.

A silence followed as the two continued along the way. Rin decided to change the atmosphere with a switch in subject.

"So... do you think Kaito's going to be all right?"

"Yeah," Miku replied, "They would have called the hospital if it was really serious. Besides, Meiko would have dragged him back from the afterlife if he died."

The two then laughed in unison.

-:-

Len sighed as he climbed the steps of his condominium, looking up at the orange sky above him. He was absolutely exhausted. The day had proven to be much more difficult than he anticipated. He had gotten far more attention than he had wanted, not to mention there was the worry over the unconscious third year looming in the back of his mind. Approaching his apartment, Len pulled out his keys to pen the door before him.

"I'm home," He called as he flickered the lights on.

Len waited for a moment to see if there was any sort of response. When there wasn't, he closed the door behind him and slipped out of his shoes, seeing that they were the only pair there. He then dragged his feet across the floor until he made it to his room.

After shutting the door, Len leaned back against it and sighed deeply. He stayed there a moment before stepping over to his desk. On his way, he passed his full length mirror and caught his reflection. Len had jumped because he had nearly not recognized it. The appearance that he saw now in comparison to the one he saw that morning were completely different, especially when Len took off his glasses.

He flushed, a little embarrassed, and quickly put his glasses back on. After placing his bag down at the side of his desk, Len took off his blazer and sat in his chair, groaning as if his body was released from a long strain. He then slowly began to smooth down his hair. After a moment of stillness, Len reached for his bag and pulled out his notes that he had taken that day. He had already finished his homework, but he made it a habit to do as many extra problems as he could.

Today was a bit different though, because after a few moments of reading over his notes and solving a few extra problems, Len closed his books and sighed. He then glanced at one of the blank notebooks on his desk. A moment later, he slipped it in front of him and opened it to one of the blank pages.

"Write the lyrics, huh?"

Len looked up at the ceiling, putting the tip of his pencil to the bottom of his lip in thought. Then he began to scribble a thing or two on the blank page, a smile crossing his face.

-:-

Piko hummed as he leisurely entered the classroom, smiling and waving at acquaintances. He made his way to his desk and set his bag on the side. Just as he was taking his seat, he looked at the empty spot next to him.

"Huh... Len's not here yet."

As if on cue, the sliding door to the classroom slammed open. Standing underneath the door frame was a very flustered Len Kagamine, breathing harshly with his usually tidy uniform now a little out of place and his glasses crooked. With a bit of confusion in his eyes, he looked around the classroom to see that everyone was staring straight at him. A shade of red rushed over his cheeks and he quickly slid the door closed behind him and walked toward his seat, trying to ignore the chuckles that rose.

"Morning," Piko sniggered, "That was quite an entrance, Len."

Len flushed, "I-I was running late! I must have just barely made it!"

"Len, class doesn't start for another half-hour."

Len blinked a few times at Piko and then quickly lifted his wrist to look at his watch. He stared intently at it for a few seconds, then slumped back in his chair, sighed, and put his head on his desk.

"Why did you think you were running late?"

Len lifted his head, "Well, I was trying to put in my contacts today, but it was taking much longer than I expected it to. I ended up giving up and when I looked at the clock... I guess I mistook the big hand for the little hand."

"Well that makes me feel a little about myself knowing that a honors student can make those kinds of mistakes!" Piko laughed as Len flushed once more, "Why were you trying to put contacts in?"

"Uh, well..." Len twirled a lock of hair around his finger awkwardly.

He knew that Piko so very desperately wanted to be a part of the Vocaloids. What would he think if he told him that he was recruited in? Or forcefully recruited, rather... Would he be jealous? Would he not want to talk to him anymore? Either way, Len decided to tell Piko the truth.

"The Vocaloids... a-asked me to join... And I have to wear my uniform a certain way. And part of it is no glasses..."

The smile on Piko's face vanished for a bit and Len immediately felt a wave of guilt. Len opened his mouth to say something, but Piko had quickly gained his smile back. Len was both relieved and confused.

"I'm glad!" He grinned, "That means you're fitting in to this school!"

A small, sheepish smile crept across Len's face, "Y-Yeah... And I'm sure one day you'll get in, too!"

Piko grinned a bit wider and nodded. Then curiously, he eyed Len up and down, "If you have to wear your uniform a certain way, then why do you look pretty much the same? Minus looking like a train hit you, that is."

Len looked off absently in one direction and poked his fingers together, "Well... it was just too embarrassing. And I couldn't get the contacts in, so... yeah. I guess I can say that it's a good thing that there are no club activities today."

"Yeah, but Rin, one of the Vocaloids, is in our class. Don't you think she'll—"

"...I'll what?"

Piko and Len both felt like their souls were ripped out of them as they jumped in complete surprise. Len scrambled in his seat until he turned to where the voice had come from. Sure enough, there was Rin standing right behind him.

"H-Hello, Kagamine." Len managed to stutter out.

"You're looking awfully nice in your uniform today." Rin snickered.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry!" Len clapped his hands together and bowed, "Just please don't tell Hatsune, okay?"

Rin folded her arms and stared down on Len. She left him in a moment of silence, seemingly pondering her own thoughs. Rin could have sworn she saw Len's mouth quiver, though. She wondered if she should just walk back to her seat and leave him in torment. However, they were in the same club... she might as well try to get along with him.

"Okay, okay, fine."

Were those tears forming in the corners of his eyes? What a cry baby.

"Th-Thank you, Kagamine!" Len bowed his head, "I promise I will try to wear my uniform differently tomorrow!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." And with a wave of her hand, Rin walked back to her seat.

When Rin had walked away, Len had let out a sigh and turned toward Piko. What he saw was a boy with stars flying all over in his eyes.

"Piko?"

"Wow!" Piko was gaping at Len now, "She talked to us! You must be made of magic or something!"

"Er... I don't think that's the issue, here..."

But for now, at least Len knew he was safe for the day.

Or so he thought...

When the bell for lunch rang, Rin pulled out the bento she had made and walked out of the classroom. She glanced at Len one last time who was being approached by a crowd of boys wanting to hang out with him again. Rin made her way to a classroom a few doors down and peeked inside, seeing a pink head and a tealette.

"Oh, Rin, hi!" Miku called, waving Rin over to have her join her and Luka.

"How's your day so far?" Luka smiled, "Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah. It's just slow today." The blond answered, then changed the subject, "I talked to Len this morning, though."

"Oh?" Miku smiled, interlocking her fingers and resting her chin on them, "So did he wear his uniform differently today?"

"Nope."

Luka nearly choked on the juice she had just swallowed and Miku sighed, letting her head fall to her desk. Rin simply pulled a desk close to them and sat down, opening her bento.

"He said something about being 'too embarrassed' and not being able to put in his contacts." Rin continued, breaking her chop sticks.

"But who in their right mind would want to look that _nerdy_ in this day and age? I mean, even his hair looks like it was pulled out from ten years ago with the way it's parted and greased!" Miku twiddled her fingers with frustration.

"Maybe he just doesn't know what good fashion sense is." Luka sipped another gulp from her juice box.

"Doesn't...know..." Miku stared at something invisible on her desk. Her eyes then slowly widened, "Oh, my gosh... what is his fashion sense outside of that uniform?"

"Beats me. Why should we care?" Rin swallowed a bite of her lunch.

"Don't act like you don't care, Rin, I saw you oogle over him last time!" Miku turned toward Luka as Rin choked on something, "Luka... your skills are still sharp, right?"

"Why yes, they are." Luka replied.

"You know what to do...right?"

"Yes, I do." Luka smiled.

"Do it after school... we don't have club activities today, after all." Miku then lowly began to chuckle and then erupted into a sort of maniacal laugh.

"Miku, stop that." Rin coughed.

-:-

Len stretched after class was finally dismissed for the day, extending his arms as far as he could. Today was actually a bit of a good day, minus the mauling crowd at lunch.

"Hey, Len," Piko called from beside him, "I have something to do after school, so I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Len smiled as he put the last of his notebooks in his bag.

Maybe with no club activities, he could go to the store today... They were running low on groceries. After all, there was a sale going on that day as well. Len grabbed the handle of his bag and quickly got out of the classroom before he could be bothered. While in the hallways, he had to worry about running into Miku, Luka, or Meiko. He didn't truly breathe a sigh of relief until he was off school grounds.

The walk through the city and the ride on the subway was normal enough. Streets were overly crowded and the subway was absolutely packed tight. It wasn't until he approached his neighborhood that he finally got some space to himself. It was also when he couldn't shake the feeling that something was burning into his back. Len stopped for a moment and looked behind him expecting to see someone else walking behind him. Though he soon discovered that he was the only one walking on that sidewalk. Len turned back around and shook his head, shaking the feeling away from him.

Once again, Len unlocked the door to his condo and stepped inside before announcing that he was home. And once again, there was no reply. Len sighed and slipped off his shoes before walking to his room. Instead of sitting at his desk right away, however, he approached his closet as he slipped off his blazer. He pulled out a new set of clothes to wear. After crawling out of his uniform, Len dressed himself and then looked in his mirror, making the final adjustments. With that, he nodded and stepped out to the kitchen, gathered a bit of money from a jar, and was on his way out again. Locking the door behind him, Len made his way down the stairs.

Before he began walking down the street, Len looked around when he thought he heard a violent cough. When he saw no one was there, he turned around, shrugged, and continued on his way.

Luka had covered her mouth after she coughed at the sight of his atrocious wardrobe. She had followed him all this way—she wasn't about to blow her cover. What she saw was a boy wearing a button-up plaid shirt tucked in to some black pants. Combine that with his thick, square framed glasses and neatly combed hair and you get something that may have appeared ten years ago.

"Oh, my gh...wha...ha—" Luka silenced her stuttering when she pulled out her camera and snapping a picture.

* * *

_**A/N: **_**I hope this isn't going too slow... I promise that in the next chapter, things will start picking up! Rin and Len's relationship starts developing... ;)**


	4. Club Activity Proposal

_**A/N:**_ **Sorry for the late-ish update. Things got really busy around here with me getting ready for Anime Expo and sewing cosplay after cosplay. XD; But here's the next chapter! Also, I don't have a beta reader anymore, so if you could do me a favor and tell me if you spot any spelling or grammatical errors that I didn't catch, that would be great. :)  
**

* * *

_**Chapter 4**_

_**Club Activity Proposal**_

-:-

Feeling somewhat confident, Len marched toward the music room. He had not succeeded with the contacts today, but he had at least tried to wear his uniform differently. But most of all, he had successfully written the lyrics to his song and was pleased with the result. A few snickers arose from a group of girls passing by, but Len brushed it off since he was feeling more confident than usual.

He approached the door to the music room and opened it with a smile on his face. Might as well take everything with a positive attitude, right? However, his smile faded when the eyes of all the club members turned toward him with somewhat appalled gazes. They were huddled around something, and when Len entered, they had broke apart.

"H-Hi, Len." Luka raised her hand and smiled sheepishly.

Len had to do something to change this awkward atmosphere—fast.

H-Hey! I wore my uniform differently today, guys! What do you think?"

Even after Len's small attempt at an ice-breaker, the atmosphere remained the same. A small drop of sweat rolled down Len's temple as his mouth twitched as if to say something again. Len's heart rate was speeding up quickly as he tried to figure out what in Heaven's name he had done to earn this awkward moment.

"Len... explain yourself." Miku started.

Len jumped at the sudden break in silence, then continued to search his mind for answers to baffling questions.

"W-What did I do?"

Miku walked away from the clump of people and approached Len. She placed an arm around him, letting her hand drape over his shoulder. Len smiled sheepishly at her touch and tensed every muscle in his body. Then very suddenly, Miku held up a small digital camera with a screen displaying a picture of Len in his every-day clothes.

"Explain what you are wearing—NOW!" Miku raised her voice.

Len turned several shades red and felt a wave of dizziness. Then suddenly gaining his composure, he yelled,

"Since when did you find it appropriate to take stalker pictures of me?"

"Well, you see, Len..." Luka had her arm around him now as he tensed even more, "We were very concerned about you. We had no other choice."

"And it's a good thing we did, too, or else you would have been subject to more wardrobe humiliation without you even knowing." Meiko added.

"That still doesn't justify stalking me!" Len squeaked, "And at least I tried to wear my school uniform right today!"

A moment of silence followed as everyone in the room drew themselves back to assess Len's uniform. The last bit of Len's confidence faded away when he felt the disturbing aura emanating from the club members. He looked at Rin as a last resort. He didn't know why, but when she shook her head it felt like a weight crushed his head.

"Len..." Miku softly began, "Your blazer is unbuttoned, but your shirt is tucked in, your pants are too high—do you even need that belt? And your hair is a mess and you're still wearing those unflattering glasses."

"I just can't put in contacts for some reason!"

"What she's trying to say, Kagamine, is that you still look terrible." Rin called from where she was sitting.

As if the knife wasn't twisted in his chest deep enough. What did he do to deserve this? The others must have felt how harsh Rin was because subsequently, Len felt pats on his shoulders.

"But seriously," Luka took her camera from Miku and stepped away from Len, "You _do_ look kind of silly."

After a click of her camera, Luka turned the little display screen towards Len."

"If you've been hearing any snickering, that's why." Meiko commented as Len's eyes surveyed the camera.

He sighed. Now that he looked at it a second time, he did look pretty dumb. And after Meiko's comment, Len seemed to recall every giggle from every girl ever that day. He felt his shoulders slump, finally feeling complete and utter defeat. Just then, the club room door opened.

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late, what did I miss?" It was the more conscious third year that had entered the room.

Miku's head immediately shot in his direction, "Kaito! Perfect timing! We were in the middle of an important discussion!"

Kaito walked farther in and set his eyes on Len. He paused for a moment then smiled sheepishly at him, "Is this the new member?"

"Yes, and as you can see, he needs some of your guidance in dressing himself like a guy should."

Len had been staring at Kaito ever since he entered the room, feeling the worst wave of guilt wash over him. Sure, he seemed like he recovered and was definitely more conscious than back then, but Len couldn't help himself. He broke from Miku's arm hold and stood in front of Kaito and bowed deeply and spoke a mile a minute.

"Hello, my name is Kagamine Len, it's nice to meet you. I'm so sorry for what happened the other day—I hope we can still get along!"

Suddenly, someone pulled on the back of Len's collar, forcing him to stand straight up.

"Don't grovel in front of him, Kid, it will give him a big head." Meiko wrapped her arm around Len's neck.

Kaito paused for a moment and blinked several times before bursting out into laughter, "I like this guy! And go easy on him, Sis."

Meiko let out a "humph" and loosened Len from her grasp. He fell forward for a bit and then gripped his knees and breathed a little heavily after the restriction of air. With everyone else, he turned around when the sound of scraping chairs and desks sounded through the air. Miku had stood atop one of the desks, looking very diva-like, with her hands on her hips and a smile reaching from ear to ear. Rin was beside her in her seat nearly placing a palm on her face.

"As president of the Vocaloids, I am proposing a club activity for this weekend! I call it 'Operation: Spice-Up Len's Wardrobe!' Any objections?"

There was silence in the club room, meaning that the decision of approval was unanimous. Len had timidly raised his hand in the air, but it was quickly slapped back down by Luka standing next to him.

"Okay," Miku folded her arms, "Kaito, we're meeting at your house."

Meiko interjected, "It's my house, too—"

"We'll meet there at noon on Saturday." Miku continued on as if she hadn't heard Meiko. She then pointed at Len, "Len, do you own a pair of jeans? A T-shirt? You know... a shirt without a collar?"

"Y-Yes... I own one pair for—"

"Good. Wear them. And bring your contacts, too. And for Heaven's sake, refrain from tucking anything into your pants."

-:-

"So," Miku chirped, twirling on her feet to face Rin, "Are you excited for this Saturday?"

The two were walking home together again. The sky shone in the bright orange color that Rin loved so much. She was still staring up at it when she gave Miku her response.

"I guess."

"Oh, I can just feel the anxiousness oozing off of you." Miku raised an eyebrow.

Rin finally looked down from the sky, "I just don't get why you're making such a big fuss over this Kagamine guy. Just have him talk with Kaito and buy him some new clothes or something."

"Oh, don't act like you're not interested, I know you are." Miku ignored the glare from Rin, "And that's what we're doing with him! Why not make it a club activity? The point of a club is for everyone to have fun together, right?"

Rin sighed when she couldn't think of a response.

"So when this Saturday comes, at least _try_ to be more friendly with Len, okay? He is part of the Vocaloids now." Miku poked Rin's nose, "You've been a lot more reserved since he's joined so open up a little. He's not a bad guy."

Rin wrinkled her nose at Miku's touch and stared off into the distance for a bit. After thinking for a while, she let out one more sigh.

"Okay, fine."

-:-

Len clutched a paper in his hand and studied its contents once more. An address was scribbled on it and he was making sure that he was, in fact, in the right place. Len looked at the name plate and saw that the last name matched the one on the paper. He smiled to his success at finding the right place. But his nervousness washed away his grin when he thought of what might happen to him within the next few hours.

Len took a deep breath, pushed up his square framed glasses, and walked through the gate, making an impressed note that Meiko and Kaito lived in a good-sized house. Well, the tuition of Yamaha Academy _was_ really high, so naturally most of the students who go there without financial aid would be well off.

Len stepped up to the front door and rung the doorbell, not quite sure what to expect. He shifted his feet for a bit and then froze when he heard muffled voices yelling at each other from inside. There were a couple of thuds and then the lock on the door clicked. The door swung on its hinges a little too quickly for Len, however, because he had jumped when it opened.

"Ah, Len, there you are!" It was Miku, "You're late—everyone's here already!"

She grabbed Len's hand and pulled him into the house, slamming the door shut behind them. Len barely had enough time to take off his shoes before Miku started dragging him throughout the house.

"So you wore some jeans and a T-shirt. Good—that'll be good enough for today until we go shopping."

"Sh-Shopping?" Len repeated.

"Hey! Miku! Stop acting like this is your own house! You're lucky our parents aren't around!"

Meiko was yelling at Miku from the couch in the living room with Rin calmly sipping a cup of tea next to her. Len had barely enough time to look because he was already being led upstairs. Suddenly he remembered the word, "shopping", again. Did Miku really expect to go shopping? Len thought that this was just a supplementary lesson of sorts.

"Kaito!" Miku opened the door to a bedroom, "Your client is here!"

She held Len by the collar in front of her. Kaito must have noticed the look of terror on Len's face, because he had taken Len by the shoulder and had pulled him away from Meiko.

"Thanks, Miku, we'll take it from here." Kaito smiled.

Before Miku could reply or do anything else, she was dragged out of the room by Luka. With a slam of the door, Len was finally met with peace and quiet for the first time since entering the house. He nervously looked back at Kaito and smiled.

"Sorry if they've been a little rough on you. But they really do mean well."

"A-Ah...it's okay." Len touched the back of his head, "And I really am sorry for what I did the other day."

"No harm done! I get worse from my sister!" Kaito laughed, "So did you bring your contacts?"

"Yeah." Len swung his backpack that he had off his shoulder and fished around for a contacts case.

"Okay, good. I'll teach you how to put those in first." Kaito walked toward his door and nodded at Len, "Come on."

The next thing Len knew, he was led into the largest, most spotless home bathroom he had ever seen. He followed Kaito's lead and stood beside him in front of the sink and washed his hands.

"All right, do you have your solution?" Kaito nodded when Len pulled a bottle from out of his bag, "Okay. So you have trouble putting in contacts, huh? Did someone teach you and you forgot because you preferred your glasses, or...?"

"Er...No, not really."

"Not even your parents? My dad taught me—"

"N-No... I-I just was prescribed with them. It was a deal when I got my new glasses—ha ha..."

Kaito pursed his lips at Len, a little confused. But his countenance returned to normal after brushing it off.

"Well, at least you know to wash your hands." Kaito smiled before taking out his own case and popping his contacts out.

Len took this as a cue to unscrew the caps of his own case and take off his glasses. He stared at the clear lenses wondering what to do with them. From then on, he watched Kaito's every move.

"Okay, so get the contact on your finger like this."

"Okay..."

"Make sure the rim isn't wobbly. If it is, it's inside-out—"

"Okay..."

"And gently put it in like this..." Kaito's contact was already in his eye, granting him clear vision in one eye.

"Okay...gah!"

"No, try it like this—" Kaito repeated the motion.

"Er...gah! I can't stop blinking!"

"It's okay. That's what practice is for..."

It took Len a good twenty minutes before both contacts were in. In all reality, however, that was a huge accomplishment compared to trying for an hour and getting no contacts in. So at the moment, Len was feeling really good about himself.

"Hey, you look ten times better!" Kaito complimented, "But...they are right about your hair being, well... a mess."

And there went Len's boost of confidence.

"But I combed it this morning!"

"No, not _messy_-messy...just... it looks _nerdy_ with it being parted like that and even a little...greasy? Len, do you wash your hair?" Kaito was flinching.

"Yeah!" Len was defensive now.

"What shampoo and conditioner do you use?"

"Conditioner? I just use shampoo—"

"Well, _there's_ your problem! You need the right products for your hair!" Kaito began to reach for things in the shower behind him, "And no worries—they have guy hair products so it's not just a 'girly thing' to take care of your hair. It's hygiene."

Len flushed with embarrassment. Kaito chuckled at his reaction and patted his shoulder before handing him a towel.

"Here, wrap that around your shoulders, I'll wash your hair and show you how to style it."

Sooner or later, Len was bent over with his head underneath a faucet and warm water running over his head. His neck hurt a little, but Len decided not to say anything about it. Kaito's fingers rubbing against his scalp felt kind of good, though.

So, you transferred to Yamaha Academy on scholarship, right? How are you liking it so far?"

"How am I liking it?" Len asked more himself than anyone.

He had never really thought of the answer to that question. It had only been his first week after all. Len had only come to the school because of opportunity and studying for his future. All he had really done this week was deal with the Vocaloids...

"I guess..." Len started, a small smile creeping on his face, "I like it."

"That's good," Kaito smiled. He then snickered, "See any cute girls you might like?"

Len wasn't quite sure why, but the moment he heard Kaito's question he immediately recalled the time when his and Rin's face were merely inches apart. She had reached to take off his glasses, so her face soon became a blur, but he couldn't help but feel a strange twitching in his chest. No, why would he think about that! And what exactly did Kaito mean by "like" anyway? Len quickly shook his head, as if that would clear his mind.

"N-N-No..."

"Hey, keep your head still." Kaito opened his mouth to say something else, but decided against it and avoid his thought, "Okay, let's dry your hair. We'll use Meiko's hair dryer so it can go faster."

Len rubbed the towel over his wet, shoulder-length hair, making it into an even more tangled mess. Kaito ran a comb through it before taking the hair dryer to it. Len felt a blast of warm air crash onto his head and clinched at first. The hair dryer was so loud, Len couldn't hear what Kaito was saying when he saw him move his mouth. When the bathroom was quiet again, Len looked in the mirror as saw a blonde mop on his head.

"It's so fluffy..." Len mused, touching his hair.

"And that's what you get when you use the right products." Kaito held up another bottle, "Now go ahead and tie your hair up in that signature ponytail of yours."

Len did as he was told and tied his hair up. Now the blonde mop was only on the front of his head.

"Now look in the mirror and watch and learn."

It was a good thing that Len had photographic memory or else he would have forgotten all this. He watched Kaito in slight amazement as it seemed his hair was being sculpted like clay. He was also getting over the fact that he was staring at a face without glasses now. After what seemed to be about ten seconds, Kaito stepped back.

"There. That looks much better."

Len blinked at his reflection. He could clearly see his blue, cerulean eyes now that they didn't have thick, black frames around them. Instead of his bangs being parted like they usually were, they were neatly tousled and slightly spiky-looking.

To Len's surprise, he liked this new look.

"Here," Kaito said, handing Len the shampoo, conditioner, and hair product he used, "Go ahead and keep these, I can always buy some. Let me know when you run out."

"Thanks, Senpai—"

"Call me Kaito. After all, we are friends now, right?" He held out his hand.

Len smiled at that word. Friends. It was definitely a wonderful feeling, too. Maybe transferring schools was for the better after all.

"Yeah." Len reached to shake his hand, but instead Kaito slapped it with his palm and balled it into a fist. Len didn't know what to do at first, but then followed his lead, bumped his fist, and laughed along with him.

"Now that we have a new Vocaloid here, why don't you go downstairs and show everyone?"

-:-

"Hey, guys!" Kaito broke the girly chatter in the living room, "Look who I brought!"

Len took that as his signal and stepped out from behind Kaito. The sound in the room all seemed to be sucked away when he stepped in. The aura was definitely different from the one he had felt a few days ago in the club room and everyone's eyes were completely fixed on him.

Len surveyed the room for a bit and then his eyes fell on Rin's...

* * *

**_A/N:_ I sincerely hope that wasn't boring for you guys. I know not much went on in this chapter, but I thought it was important for me to develop Len's relationship with other characters before he develops one with Rin (because we all know that's going to happen). Although Rin and Len are going to be the main characters, I don't want the entire story to solely focus on them. And if you've been following my Vocaloid fan fictions, this is the first time Len and Kaito have gotten along! I suppose I've felt sorry for making Kaito and Miku such meanies in my previous fan fictions...among other things... Yay for getting along!**


	5. Operation: SpiceUp Len's Wardrobe!

_**A/N:**_** IMPORTANT!** I have a few things to say in regards to the updates of this story. All I can say that from this point until December, they will be slow. I'm in a really, really tough semester right now, so writing will be a bit sparse. But I will try my best! Anyway, I hope you enjoy! And again, I don't have a beta reader, so if you spot any mistakes...please let me know. c:**  
**

* * *

_**Chapter 5**_

_**Operation: Spice-Up Len's Wardrobe!**_

-:-

Len didn't have the opportunity to register the kind of face Rin was making because it was no sooner that he was completely smothered. He felt arms wrap tightly around him and pull him in all directions. Len was being squeezed—no, _suffocated_ by three girls at once. Miku, Luka, and Meiko.

"There he is! There's our new member!" Miku chimed.

"It's almost like we've polished a diamond in the rough!" Luka added.

"Kaito, you actually did something right!"

"Contrary to your belief, I do quite a few things right, Meiko."

"Hurng...ugh...G-G...Get off me...!" Len squeezed.

With a push of his arms, Len freed himself from the extremely enclosed space and gasped for air as if he had been underwater. The girls around him began to chatter excitedly among themselves with the occasional deep voice chiming in from Kaito. Len tuned out what they were saying, however, as he looked into the room. Only one girl didn't come to smother him in an embrace. She still sat on the couch, sipping her tea. Len still stared at her until her eyes finally fell on him, looking at him up and down. At last her eyes met with Len's and this time he got a chance to read her expression. A small smile crossed the girl's lips and she shyly looked away, but kept glancing at him occasionally. Her hand moved a lock of her short blonde hair behind her ear just before she sipped her tea again. Len couldn't help but notice the pinkish hue that colored her cheeks. Was the tea still hot? Was that why her cheeks were so red? But knowing that this girl he was gazing at was Rin, Len felt a deep curiosity rise within himself at that moment.

"What's with that silly smile on your face?" Len was swept away from his thoughts at the sound of Miku's voice.

"Look, he's all red, too!" Meiko pointed and laughed.

He was blushing? Also, at the mention of the color of his cheeks, Len couldn't help but notice the fading tickling in his chest.

"It's because you had your boobs all up in his face." Luka added.

In the midst of the laughter that followed, Len definitely noticed the heat that rose to his face that time. He turned toward Kaito—for help, perhaps—but he instantly regretted it when he saw Kaito raising his eyebrows at him and doing some...weird dance. Len frowned.

"Anyway!" Miku interrupted. Thank goodness for Miku, "Now it is phase two of our operation! Shopping!"

"Shopping?" Len repeated.

"Yeah. You're not a full-fledged Vocaloid until you get rid of that awful wardrobe." Rin had joined them now.

Len was avoiding her eyes for some reason, "Th-That's not it! I can't go shopping with you—"

"It'll be okay. You have me, so they won't put you in anything weird." Kaito commented.

"No, I mean... I don't have the money!"

"Oh, that." Luka began, unfazed, as she pulled something out of her bag, "I'll pay for it, so you don't need to worry."

Len looked at the object between her fingers and saw a very, very, _very_ shiny card.

"What—"

"Don't question Luka." Meiko cut Len off.

"Well, then..." Miku clapped her hands together, "Shall we go?"

-:-

Len was actually a little excited to go out and shop, though he would never dare say it out loud. He seldom visited the shopping districts of the city let alone explored the city itself aside from going to school. The most Len did when he went out was walk to the closest convenience store for groceries, or occasionally visit his grandmother out in the country.

Needless to say, when they arrived at the shopping district, Len was in a bit of a culture shock—putting any small excitement aside. So when they were walking down a street with clothes shops on either side...

"So...w-what do I do?" Len mumbled.

"Uh... you shop for clothes?" Meiko said next to him.

"But I haven't shopped like this before..."

"It's the same thing you did for your soon-to-be other wardrobe... You know... the terrible-looking one?" Miku had drawn herself back to the front of the group to stand next to him.

"Well..."

"You _did_ shop for your other clothes didn't you...? Don't tell me they're hand-me-downs..." Meiko narroed her eyes.

"No!" Len was in his sad excuse for a self-defense mode, "My grandmother bought them for me and sent them to me..."

Rin let out an exasperated sigh, "Well that explains a whole lot."

Len flushed a little before Miku spoke up again, "Kaito, where do you shop for your clothes here?"

"We just passed it—"

Len's cry of protest cut Kaito off. Miku had grabbed Len's arm and had begun dragging him to the nearest boys' clothing store—which presumably was the one Kaito shopped at. She tore through the front door, Len flying behind her, with Luka, Meiko, and Rin following suit—Rin being a little less enthused than the rest. All this left Kaito by himself in an instant, blinking and somewhat taken aback from what just happened.

Well... if he was there to be moral support for Len, then he had better get in there, Kaito thought.

By the time Rin had entered the store, Kaito following her not long after, Miku and the rest of the girls had already disappeared with Len before her very eyes. She stood there, thinking to herself whether or not to go join them among the clothing racks—what would she do in a boys' clothing store anyway?

She decided against herself and look at the clothes around the store. She pretended to be interested in the styles of the opposite gender, but in truth she sort of wanted to avoid Len. It wasn't that she didn't like him—she was just somewhat nervous... That's just how she was with all guys that tried to get close to her. It took her a while to adjust to Kaito being in the club, too. And it didn't help that Miku urged her to be friendlier with Len; she felt a bit pressured. Rin wanted to make friends, she really did, but...

Well, she just wasn't sure...

At that very moment a flash of teal dashed across her way. Miku had stopped in the isle Rin was in, throwing clothes onto her free arm.

"Oh, hi, Rin." Miku smiled before returning to her work.

Len walked from out of a corner juggling what looked like fifty articles of clothing in his arms. Behind him were Luka and Meiko who placed more hangers on his ever-growing pile. With each new shirt, Len's face seemed to grow more and more pale. Rin was pretty sure that the reason for that was probably because he didn't want to drop anything, seeing as he clutched the pile tighter—and maybe a little culture shock being involved, too.

"Hatsune...ugh... isn't this a little... er... much?"

"Call me MIKU." Miku ordered as she threw down her pile of clothes in his arms, "There. Now that's enough."

What Rin was staring at now was a pile of clothes with a pair of legs. A tiny giggle passed her lips, but she made sure no one else witnessed it.

"Okay, now let's go try these on. To the fitting rooms!" Miku had begun to nudge the pile of clothes with a pair of legs in one direction.

Rin did not follow and instead was about to go off on her own way. However that plan was quickly foiled when she had felt a hand tightly grip her arm. It was none other than Miku pulling her along.

"You, too, Rin. Join the procession!"

Miku was a little too excited about this...

Everyone found each other at the fitting rooms, the pile of clothes and the rest of the Vocaloids. When they had discovered that Len could only take in a certain number of clothing items, Rin, Miku, Meiko, and Luka found themselves seated in the waiting chairs with clothing on their laps. That didn't stop Miku suggesting what clothes Len should try on first and in what ways he should wear them.

"...And don't forget to come out and show us?"

Len was staring at Miku, absorbing all her instructions and glancing at the pieces of clothing in his hands. He was a bit flabbergasted with the speed of her tongue as well. Just as he was about to turn toward his dressing room, he was interrupted by a voice beside him.

"Don't worry, Len," Kaito gave a thumbs up as Len turned towards him, "I'll be trying on clothes, too, so it'll be okay!"

Was this his idea of "moral support?"

Len chuckled sheepishly before disappearing behind the door of his dressing room. The three girls were left to themselves in silence for a moment.

"All this talk of clothes makes me want to go shopping for myself." Meiko broke the quiet.

"Well, your brother seems to have taken advantage of that." Luka commented.

"Just because we happen to be in a men's clothing store..." Grumbled Meiko.

"Oh, just let Kaito do what he wants. We're here mainly for Len after all, right, Rin?"

"Yeah," Rin answered absentmindedly before shooting her head towards Miku, "Wait, why are you asking me in particular?"

"Miku, you're always going easy on Kaito!" Meiko whined.

"That's because—"

"Here I am!" Kaito sang, coming out of his dressing room.

Kaito sported a white button-down with a blue shirt peeking out from underneath and black khaki pants. Placing one hand in his pocket, he lifted the other to run his fingers through his deep blue hair. He posed and winked.

"You look flawless!" Miku gave a thumbs up.

"Who are you showing off to?" Meiko folded her arms as Luka rolled her eyes.

Rin smiled, but only in amusement towards the obvious dispute taking place. Her attention was drawn away from it, however, when she heard the click of the door next to Kaito's dressing room.

"I-Is this okay?" Len was barely peeking from inside at first before fully emerging.

He wore a white v-neck with an orange, rounded collared shirt underneath with a blue button down with the buttons undone on top and tan khaki shorts. The clothes seemed to fit his form so perfectly and Rin found herself not being able to look away. Len shyly scratched the back of his head and blushed, eyes seeming to be intent on scanning the ceiling.

"You know... if someone had told me that the boy I stalked the other day could look like this, I wouldn't have believed them."

"So you DO admit to stalking me!" Len's face flushed as he yelled at Luka.

"She does have a point, though!" Meiko added, brushing past Len's comment, "Compared to the kid that walked into our club room a few days ago, this is a completely different person!"

"I don't remember what you looked like before very much, but yeah!" Kaito patted Len on the back, to which Len smiled a bit.

"I'd say our operation is a great success! Right, Rin?" Miku turned to look at Rin sitting beside her.

"Why are you asking me?!" Rin let out a small groan when Miku elbowed her. She pursed her lips and blushed a little before speaking again, "Y-Yeah..."

Len felt his chest go a bit tight at Rin's reaction, unsure of what it meant. He didn't notice Miku narrow her eyes at Rin since he was so concentrated on deciphering the look in those two blue orbs. Then Len realized that he had never looked so intently at someone before and then proceeded to fumble around nothing due to embarrassment.

"Okay, stop freaking out over nothing and try on the next thing..."

-:-

Len had expected that to be the only shop they would do shopping in, since he walked out with an armful of bags. However, the rest of the club members insisted that if he was getting an entirely new wardrobe, they needed to go "all out." And so Len found himself going from shop to shop, seemingly clearing everything out from clothes to accessories. By the time Miku had declared that "the operation was finished," Len carried armfuls of bags in each arm.

Now they were casually walking down the sidewalk, passing stores that they had already sweeped out. Len had moved himself next to Luka, who had just bought the contents of his newest bag.

"S-Sorry for the trouble, Megurine... I'll pay you back when—"

"It's Luka. And don't bother to pay me back." She turned toward him and smiled, "It wasn't too expensive for me anyways."

"_W-Wasn't...Expensive..."_ Len thought as his mind tried to wrap around her statement after recalling some of the prices, _"She must be from another family that's well-off..."_

Len finally spoke out loud, "So, Megurine—"

"Call me Luka."

"Er...Luka... I-If you don't mind my asking... I can assume that your family is rich?"

"Hm? Yeah, pretty much. My dad owns a huge music company—that's where we get all our equipment for the club. And my mom works in the fashion industry." She sighed, "I don't really use my allowance money so when I say it's okay not to pay me back, _it's okay._"

Len flushed at Luka's smile. No one had really done anything like that for him—to that degree at least. He felt a bit inferior thinking about it all. He silently vowed to himself, however, that he would find some way to repay Luka—with or without money.

"T-Thank you for all you've done!" Len bowed his head deeply to her.

"It's okay, no need to thank me." Luka raised her hands and chuckled.

"Is that an ice cream shop I see?!" Kaito suddenly blurted out after dramatically gasping.

The group had come to a crossroad and sure enough, at the corner of a street, was an ice cream shop. Len didn't understand the significance of it, however.

"Kaito... _really_?" Meiko sighed, elbowing him.

"We just finished 'Operation: Spice-Up Len's Wardrobe,' so why not celebrate with something?"

"Celebrate with ice cream, Kaito? I'd imagine more of a big dinner..."

"Well, why not?" Miku interjected, "I don't see a problem. It's probably less of a hassle than going to some fancy restaurant anyway."

"All I can say is that we better have something we can actually eat for dinner."

"Oh, Rin, always thinking about food!" Miku giggled, pinching Rin's cheeks. Her hands were immediately slapped away after that.

"So everyone's up for it?" Kaito eagerly looked around before letting out an obnoxious cheer. He was quickly elbowed by Meiko again.

Now Len understood the situation perfectly. It wasn't that the ice cream shop had special significance; it was just that Kaito seemed to have a strange fascination for ice cream. He found himself chuckling at that.

"So let's go!" Miku declared before spotting Len, "Ah, but Len, it would probably be a bit of trouble for you, huh? We'll get your ice cream while you wait. What flavor do you want?"

"But I can get it myse—"

"_What flavor do you want?_"

"Ah! Um... er... anything... banana flavored." If Len could, he would have been poking his fingers together.

"Okay! Rin, why don't you go wait with Len over on that bench so he's not alone. I'm assuming you want something orange flavored?" Miku ignored the silent objection Rin was making, 'We'll be back!"

"Miku...!"

"Break the ice, Rin..." Miku mumbled before running off to catch up with Kaito, Meiko, and Luka.

And with that Rin was left with a stumbling, blonde boy juggling bags in each arm. There was a moment of silence and even a time where Rin couldn't even look at Len. Even though she wasn't looking at him, she could definitely feel his breathing presence there. And he stood out much more than the people passing close by them on the street. Rin had begun to fidle with the hem of her blouse.

"W-Well, then... shall we go?" Len asked, pointing to the nearest bench to them.

"Huh? Yeah, sure..." Rin caught a brief glance at Len.

How in the world was she supposed to "break the ice?!"

When Miku had left Rin alone with Len, the moment immediately following was when his heart began to pound faster and faster in his chest. When they had sat down on the bench together—both on the extreme opposite ends—Len's heart then felt as if it was going to leap out of his throat. Rin was fiddling with the hem of her shorts now as Len arranged the bags he had just put down.

"S-So... Kagamine?"

Rin shot her head towards Len at the sound of her name. He was facing her slightly now with his head low and a faint, pink color brushing his cheeks.

"I-If I've done anything to o-offend you... I'm sorry!" Len bowed his head deeper.

Rin blinked a few times, a little bit astonished at Len's sudden action. She knew that with the way she treated boys that walked into her life, she should be the one that apologized. In her mind however, the way she treated them was all for a reason—to fend them away. After all, they were all the same. So the apologies that should have come from her didn't. They would all end up getting the hint anyway. Yet here was Len, bowing his head and saying sorry for something he didn't do. For the first time, Rin felt guilty for her actions.

Perhaps he wasn't wearing a mask after all... he wasn't wearing a mask like—

"K-Kagamine?" Len muttered when the silence had become too uncomfortable with him.

Rin's lips curled into a smile.

She then balled her hand into a fist and bumped him on top of his head. Len flinched a little.

"It'll be confusing if we call each other 'Kagamine' all the time." Rin watched Len's eyes grow wider, probably in shock of seeing her smile, "S-So you'll call me Rin and... I'll call y-you Len?"

Len's face was at a slight tint and his heart was beating a mile a minute. He was so happy with the way Rin was finally talking to him.

"Y-Yeah..." He inwardly chuckled when he saw Rin twiddling her thumbs, "S-So... you accept my apology?"

"Huh?!" Rin was taken aback, "Oh, you don't need to apologize! I should be saying sorry! I'm just... Well, I'm just shy around new people."

Len stared at her for a moment. This new side of Rin was a little amusing. His eyes softened and a warm smile curled his lips.

"I guess we share something in common, Rin." He laughed.

As Rin looked at Len's face and listened to him utter her name, something flipped in her chest. She would have never guessed that talking to Len like this would make her so incredibly happy. Perhaps it was the thrill of the process of making a new friend. She nodded and laughed along with him.

After their laughs had faded into the ambiance of the city, they both faced forward with new contentment.

"So, when do you think they're coming?" Len looked over his shoulder, "I'm kind of looking forward to that banana-whatever-flavored thing they're bringing..."

"Pff...you dork." Rin jested.

As Len looked back at Rin, Miku had just come out with Kaito following a little ways behind her. Meiko and Luka were just finishing up inside when Miku spotted two blondes sitting close to each other on a bench not far from them. She stopped for a moment and simply watched. Then she saw from the corners of their faces that smiles were plastered across them. Miku's lips curled inward.

"Hmmmm..."

* * *

_**A/N:**_My main concern at this point is...is Rin and Len's relationship moving too fast? We all know that they'll end up together _eventually_, but I don't want to make it so they'll end up together really soon at this point. And also I'm concerned about the fact of whether or not this story is still interesting. I guess that means you'll have to leave a review and let me know! Haha. By the way, I've discovered how difficult it is writing six characters in one scene.


	6. Some Adjustments

_**A/N: PLEASE READ!  
**_**As you can see, I've been having a really hard time updating this. The reason is because I'm in a very challenging school semester right now and I have barely enough time and energy to do the things I want. But believe me, I had been writing this whenever I could, taking my notebook out during my lunch break and writing what I had in my mind. It's taken me nearly the whole semester to write this new chapter. Fortunately, updates should be getting quicker soon, since I'm done with school in approximately three weeks...so hang tight! In the meantime, enjoy!  
**

* * *

_**Chapter 6:**_

_**Some Adjustments**_

-:-

Len had somehow managed to make it back to his apartment carrying the hoard of bags on each arm. To be honest, he had no idea how he made it through the subway system. As far as he was concerned—it was a miracle. Of course Luka had offered her chauffeur to drive Len home after eating dinner at Kaito and Meiko's house, but he had politely refused. Len feared that the rest of the club would have wanted to come along to see where he lived.

That was something Len didn't want.

The sun had already set by the time Len was walking up the steps to his condo floor. Once he reached the door, he put down one set of bags to reach into his pocket for keys. Then slowly, he proceeded to open the door. Instead of announcing he was home, he looked at the door step to see an extra pair of shoes. Then very quietly, he picked up his bags and shut the door silently with his foot.

He could hear the TV droning on in the other room. After slipping off his shoes, Len began to tip-toe across the way to his room. He passed the lit room with the TV cautiously before finally making it to his room. He shut the door quickly and sighed. Then immediately after, he had begun to place the plethora of bags in his closet—he would unpack them later.

He would also say that his grandma sent him the clothes...that she thought that he needed a change in his wardrobe.

"Len!"

He jumped at the sudden call of his name.

-:-

Rin Kagamine walked slowly up the path to her house. Her legs were somewhat sore from all the walking that was done today and a little tired from all the energy over dinner that night. After their ice cream, everyone had agreed to go back to Kaito and Meiko's house to cook something. Miku had decided that it was a good idea to make it a group effort and of course that caused some sibling dissension between Meiko and Kaito. Thankfully, everyone had discovered that Len was a pretty good cook, so he had saved dinner.

Rin sighed when Len came across her mind as she unlocked the door to her house. And she sighed again when she saw that every light in her house was turned off. Her mother was still on her business trip and her father was working overseas—she hadn't seen him in years. With both her mother and father gone, that meant Rin was to fend for herself tonight and probably for the rest of the weekend—which also meant that Rin was alone.

Turning on every light through every room she passed through, Rin tried to make herself feel a little more at ease. She hated it when the lights were turned off. She walked to her room a little quicker than she did walking up to her house. When she reached her room, she turned on the lights, closed the door behind her, and leaned against it and exhaled. Her eyes then trailed to her alarm clock where it blared the time.

8:00 PM.

It was too early to go to bed so Rin decided to walk to her desk and turn on the laptop that sat on it. Once everything loaded and all the icons appeared on her desktop, she dragged her mouse over and clicked on an icon that read "Skype." Miku had suggested everyone in the club download it just in case they all needed to discuss something outside of school with no way of getting to each other. However, Miku had just used it as another way to talk to Rin. They were best friends, after all. As if on cue, a user named "RollingGurl7" started a conversation with her—Miku.

_**RollingGurl7:**_ Heeeeeyyyyyy

_**ProofofLife23:**_ Hey, Miku.

_**RollingGurl7:**_ So did you have fun today?

Rin leaned back in her seat. She had a faint suspicion that she was trying to bring Len up. Rin decided to oblige her anyway.

_**ProofofLife23:**_ Yeah, it was pretty fun.

_**RollingGurl7:**_ I saw that you started hitting it off with Len. ;)

Rin snickered at the accuracy of her predition. Though she did not notice the faint color that brushed her cheeks.

_**ProofofLife23:**_ Yeah, what about it?

_**RollingGurl7:**_ Nothing, I'm just happy that you finally came out of your shell. :)

_**ProofofLife23:**_ Okay, then don't leave creepy winking faces like you're hinting at something else. It's disturbing.

_**RollingGurl7:**_ www okay, whatever.

_**ProofofLife23:**_ By the way, if you're going to drop hints on Kaito, you need to be a little more obvious about it.

Rin chuckled when she noticed the pause that was happening in the conversation after she sent her message. This was a tiny bit of revenge for Miku's "friend pressure" that day. Rin also hoped that this would lead to a change in subject. When Miku's new message popped up on the screen, Rin blinked and read it.

_**RollingGurl7:**_ That's not what we're talking about right now!

Rin softly laughed just as another message from Miku appeared.

_**RollingGurl7:**_ I just wanted to say that I'm proud of you! Is that so wrong? D:

_**ProofofLife23:**_ When you make it embarrassing, yes.

_**RollingGurl7:**_ Well, I'm glad you've taken a step forward. :)

Rin leaned back in her chair. A step forward? Was Len really a step forward in this?

_**ProofofLife23:**_ It's not like I don't talk to guys, Miku. There is Kaito, after all.

_**RollingGurl7:**_Yeah, but Kaito was the -only- guy you would talk comfortably with for a while. Don't pretend I haven't heard the rumors about you!

Rin sighed and rubbed her temples. Why did people look at her "lesser-bubbly-attitude-than-Miku" attitude and start rumors in the first place? But then...it _was_ high school. And maybe Rin _did_ come off as a little stand-offish. But it's not like she could help it...

Miku had must have grown impatient of the pause in their conversation, because she had sent another message.

_**RollingGurl7:**_ Anyway, didn't you think Len looked kinda hot today?

Rin had placed her fingers on the keyboard, ready to type, but after she had finished reading Miku's last message, her hands froze. She read the sentence again and felt something weird rise in her cheeks. Rin quickly slapped her face and sent a response.

_**ProofofLife23:**_He looked okay, I guess.

_**RollingGurl7:**_Now, now...tell me what you -really- think. ;)

There was that weird winking face again. And leave it to Miku to change the subject completely away from herself. Not only that, she was back to talking about Len again. Rin considered for a moment to respond with sarcasm, but she decided that she was fighting a losing battle. Giving in, Rin decided to oblidge.

_**ProofofLife23:**_Yeah, I guess...

_**RollingGurl7:**_wwwwwwwww

That funny tingling sensation rose in Rin's cheeks again, but she quickly dismissed it and moved on. To Rin's dismay, Miku did not stop talking to her about Len. So she was at the edge of feeling uneasy for the remainder of their conversation. Whenever Rin would try to retaliate by talking about some of Miku's embarrassing points, they would somehow circle right back to Len. Honestly, what was Miku trying to pull here?!

When the time that blared on Rin's clock grew later and her eyelids feeling a little heavier, she decided that it was time to sleep. After saying goodbye to Miku, Rin shut her computer and peeled off her clothes before groggily crawling into her pajamas. Even after ending her conversation with Miku, because of the nature of it, Len was dwelling in the back of her mind. Yes, she did find it odd for herself to even start socializing with him. Did she do the right thing? Was she taking too big of a risk?

Rin had laid her head on her pillow, eyes still open and her mind still whirling. She felt like she could trust Len, but there was still that uncertainty in the back of her mind. But Len did seem to be different. He was way too clumsy for that to be an act, but...the last time Rin thought that—

It was too quiet.

Rin groaned and stood back up and turned on her laptop to her favorite song list and lowered the volume so that the silence was filled just enough. Leaving the lights on, Rin returned to her bed. Her mind gradually began to slow as she slowly lost consciousness. But even as her thoughts began to lull, Rin's mind was turning from side to side frantically until she gradually fell onto one thought. The last thing she pondered before dipping to black was,

"_Maybe I'll give him a chance."_

-:-

The morning of the new school week had come.

Len nervously clutched the strap of his school bag, staring at the tall monstrosity that was his school behind the gates. He triple-checked his appearance, making sure his tie was set just riht below the first undone button and that his blazer was open, revealing his un-tucked shirt. There was no thick, square-framed glasses that had to be pushed up on the bridge of his nose. He had successfully put in his contacts that morning.

Rather than students passing by him without a thought, several gazes burned into Lean instead. However, Len was very oblivious to all of them, since he was so concentrated on ignoring any stares in his direction—his new appearance was still somewhat intimidating to look at in the mirror.

All Len's deeply set thoughts were suddenly dispersed when he felt his body crash into something. No more than a second later did he realize that it was another person.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" He cried, "I didn't mean to—Rin?"

"Owww..." Rin mumbled from the ground.

It looked like she was about to look up and heavily chastise the person she ran into. Yet when she looked up to see Len, her face immediately softened. Her eyes widened and her teeth had opened from their clench. A light pink color dusted her cheeks.

"Ah, Len!"

Something flipped in Len's stomach at the sound of his name. At first he didn't know what to do with Rin sitting on the ground in front of him. After a moment of flustered thought, however, he finally held out his hand. At first, Rin's initial action was to just stare at the open palm.

"I can get up myse—" Rin stopped herself and reconsidered.

If Len was possibly different from other guys, then maybe she should treat him differently...right?

Rin took Len's outstretched hand and pulled herself up with his support. The flip came back in Len's stomach when the skin of their hands touched. Once Rin was on her feet, he quickly let go, briefly brushed his hand on his jacket, and chuckled nervously. Then an awkward silence came between them when Len had noticed Rin was still standing there instead of walking off like he thought she would.

"Well?" Rin broke the silence and gestured in front of them.

It took Len a moment to realize that Rin was inviting him to walk with her.

"O-Oh!" He flushed as he hesitantly took a step with her.

At this point Len was screaming in his mind, trying to think of what small talk her could possibly use. Nice weather? No, it was a little cloudy that day. Talk about homework? No, he was probably the only one in his class who slightly enjoyed it. Len was so deeply concentrated in how to start a conversation that he almost didn't notice when Rin spoke up.

"So..."

"Yes?" Len said a little louder than he had intended.

"This isn't the first time we met like this is it?"

"Huh?"

"Don't you remember? You were fumbling with your papers and dropped them?"

It took Len a moment to realize that he was referring to his first day at Yamaha Academy. He flushed at the memory, remembering how awkward and nervous he felt at that time. On the other hand, Rin was also feeling a bit embarrassed for trying to initiate conversation so much. This was the first time in a while that she had held a conversation with a guy that wasn't Kaito for more than two minutes.

"_What am I doing?"_ Rrin mentally facepalmed.

"_What am I doing?"_ Len echoed in his mind.

Len had begun to sense the growing silence between them. To ease his discomfort, Len did something that he normally would not have done—open his mouth without much thought and start talking.

"So how about that weekend, huh? I've never seen so many clothes in my life. Speaking of clothes, girls like clothes shopping a lot don't they? That must mean this weekend was pretty exciting for you. Ah, I'm sorry, I'm probably making assumptions about you. Well, but I guess it was a fun weekend regardless..."

Len had talked so much at a mile a minute, that he lost track of what he was even saying. His brain and his mouth had become separate entities as his lips seemed to go out of control. Len's mind was screaming for him to stop and think, but the nerves of his body kept telling his voice to go on.

"...And wouldn't it be great to have banana flavored chips—?"

Len was suddenly cut off by a sudden burst of laughter from Rin. His embarrassment escalating, Len's cheeks turned a solid shade of red. Then involuntarily, he felt a chuckle escape his lungs as it grew into a laugh synonymous with Rin's. The more he laughed, to Len's surprise, the more he felt relieved and at ease. The nervousness had gone away for a moment and he now felt light and giddy. He had eventually stopped laughing, but with a small smile still plastered on his face, while Rin had slowed into a chuckle. The sound of her giggles made something thump underneath Len's chest. It was such a peculiar feeling that for a brief moment he placed a hand over his chest to make sure nothing was odd about it.

"You're sort of a clumsy guy, aren't you?" Rin managed between giggles.

"I guess you could say that," Len rubbed his eye, "I'm just nervous is all, I guess."

"You dork," Rin rolled her eyes, "Contrary to popular belief, I don't bite...hard."

The two chuckled a little bit at Rin's consoling comment. Ironically, it was Rin who was the more nervous out of the two. Despite how anxious Len looked from walking awkwardly and nearly tripping all over himself, Rin's heart was pounding twice as fast. However, she dared not show or express how it felt like her knees were about to give out any second. _It's probably Len that can bite harder, _she thought.

"Is it...hard for you to make friends, then?"

"Why do you ask that?" Rin said with a slight defensiveness painting her tone.

"W-Well..." Len felt something weird on his face, "You seem like a pleasant person, you just...don't talk that much."

There was a pause as Rin absorbed what he had said. Len took that as a sign to explain himself further after the small panic he felt within himself.

"I-I mean...when we first met you didn't really talk to me and maybe at first I thought you were angry with me. But then I discovered I was wrong when I actually sat down and tried to apologize..." He was talking a mile a minute again.

"Oh, okay." Rin had cut Len off again.

"Sorry," Len muttered, half chuckling.

Even though Len had thought he had stepped in the wrong direction, his words were somewhat comforting to her. Rin had anticipated him to make far bolder advances. After all, that's what it seemed all other guys would do. But once again, Len proved himself different. And because of that, Rin decided to keep at his side.

"But, you know..." Rin finally started after yet another long silence, "I think it's easy for me to be friends with you, Len..."

Len shot his head toward Rin at that moment, face rivaling the color of the ripest tomato, the juiciest pomegranate, or the lushest cherry. His right hand flew to the back of his head to scratch an invisible itch on his neck. Eyes shyly flickering to and from Rin, Len parted his lips.

"I-I think so, too..."

What the crap had just happened?

Rin's words made Len extremely happy, it was as if being her friend was his life's number one goal at that moment. He had no idea why he felt that way, either. Nothing made sense. Everything that was going on in his mind didn't seem to follow any sort of logic. Nothing was more embarrassing than his current countenance, though. Len noticed that they were approaching their classroom. He took that opportunity to distract himself.

"W-W-We're here... I-I guess."

Rin chuckled at him as she reached to open the door for them. She stepped in first and Len stumbled in after before sliding the door closed behind him. When Len turned around to see Rin heading to her seat, he also noticed groups of students whispering intently to each other, which terrified him. It wasn't the way that they were intensely whispering is what scared him, but it was the way that most of his classmates' eyes were burning into him.

Len gulped and quickly headed to his seat then.

"Len... what in the world?"

Len turned his head to the voice beside him to see a very surprised Piko.

"Hi, Piko!" Len greeted nervously.

"Were you talking to _Kagamine Rin_ just then?"

Len was sputtering all over himself, "W-Well...Rin and I are in the same club, so—"

"Dude," Piko had started talking over Len, "You're calling her by her first name? You _really_ must be made of magic—"

"Kagamine!" An unfamiliar voice.

Len turned away from Piko toward the owner of the voice—a girl. It was a girl in his class, but Len was quick to note that he had never spoken to this person before. Yet here she was, looking at him with a bright expression as if they had met each other on day one.

"Y-Yes?" Len croaked.

"It's your second week here, right? Do you like Yamaha Academy so far?"

Len heard a, "So daring!" somewhere in the classroom.

"I-It's okay I gue—"

"Yeah, Len likes it, but he's suuuuper tired right now," Piko cut in, "You know, stress of new situations and all. Anyway, he wants to be left alone for a bit, yeah?"

"Oh, okay." The girl looked apologetic and made her way back to her seat.

Len looked at Piko with an expression mixed with gratitude and confusion. To that, Piko leaned in to whisper his explanation.

"Man, you gotta be more careful now." Piko had a hand on the side of his face, "And what I'm referring to is that new getup of yours. You're attracting the _whole_ population by now and what I mean by that is that there're _girls_ now."

Was Piko referring to fan clubs? He had heard of a guy or two having one back at his old high school. He couldn't imagine having one himself, though.

"And, Len... it's _worse_ that you're part of the Vocaloids. Even the girls have fan clubs."

"What do I do?" Len inquired, "I can't just go back to how I used to dress."

"Understandable," Piko nodded, "Your fashion sense _was_ pretty awful."

Len wanted to face palm. Even Piko noticed?

"What you gotta do is...act totally BA."

"What?"

"Just kidding, that'll probably be bad." Piko snickered, "But really, just act like your normal, klutzy, bookworm self and just reject any confessions you get. They'll admire you, but that way they'll admire you from a distance."

Len opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by the bell. And to his relief, the conversation and the attention he was getting from all over the classroom was cut off by the homeroom teacher walking into the classroom. Gradually shaking everything off, Len found himself eventually putting his full concentration on the teacher along with the rest of the class.

-:-

School had gone on as normal for Len that day. Intense focus on his lessons, note-taking, all the usual. It had felt incredibly abnormal because of the sudden change in his social situation, however. Instead of the boys walking up to him and asking if Len wanted to hang out with them, they were pushed out of the way by gawking girls. Thankfully Piko was there to bail him out.

What Len did like about this, on the other hand, was the difference in his relation with Rin. Between classes, he and Rin would steal glances from each other. At lunch, instead of running off without saying anything, Rin had acknowledged Len with a smile before leaving the classroom to eat lunch with Miku and Luka.

When the day's last class had finally ended and all the students dismissed, Len wasn't surprised to find a crowd of girls heading towards him. Sighing in annoyance, Len tried to hide behind the bag that he had put his last book into.

Piko tried to cover for him, "Hey, Len has somewhere to get to—"

"Oh, you're always making excuses, Piko!" One girl cut in.

"No, really, he does have somewhere to get to."

Everyone turned their heads toward the new voice to see Rin cutting through the crowd. To this, no one responded and Len was both relieved and overcome with nervousness at the same time.

"Do you want to walk to the club room together?" She inquired to Len.

Several murmurs came from the other girls.

"Rin is so bold!"

"Len must really be special if Rin is talking to him."

"Must be nice to be a part of the Vocaloids..."

After tentatively shifting his eyes, Len responded, "Y-Yeah, sure." He turned to Piko and whispered, "Thanks for today. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Piko had a strange longing in his eyes as he glanced between Rin and Len, "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." He then smiled, "Have fun in club!"

By then the crowd of girls had (thankfully) dispersed. After bidding each other a final farewell, Rin and Len left Piko in the classroom and moved out into the hallway. The moment between them was about to become an awkward silence until Rin chuckled darkly.

"So you have a fan club now, I see."

"This is all because you guys made me change my style."

"Believe me, it's for the best," Rin responded, "And don't worry, unless you beg for it, they'll stop bothering you as much."

"Rin, do you have a fan club?"

"Yes. Well, the Vocaloids are a group a lot of students look up to. I used to get confessions every week, but now I only get about one a moth. Naturally, I turn down all of them."

"Confessions..."

Piko had mentioned that word earlier. Len shuddered, imagining disgustingly pink love letters in his locker. To change the direction of his mind, Len decided to ask Rin another question.

"By naturally...does that mean you already have a boyfriend?" Len immediately regretted asking the question once it left his mouth.

But he didn't have a moment to fully process his regret because Rin had immediately replied.

"No."

Len blinked. There was almost no emotion in her response—it was absent of nervousness, happiness, sadness, anything. The reaction had definitely confused Len. It was very short and stern "no." Len wasn't quite sure of how to respond, so he resorted to an apology.

"S-Sorry for prying."

"No, you're fine." Rin let out a chuckle or two, but still had very little emotion.

Len wanted to slap himself in the face at that point. The gloomy atmosphere over them that he seemed to feel now was his fault. What was he doing asking her about boyfriends anyway? Once again, he didn't think before speaking—which was very odd for him. But hearing that she didn't have a boyfriend gave him an extremely odd and peculiar feeling despite the somewhat sullen aura. He couldn't quite describe it, but it was most definitely something that struck him as an odd reaction and it made his heart race. Len wasn't quite sure why he was getting so worked up over this, high school was meant for study; not worrying over relationship statuses.

Len shifted his gaze so that he could see Rin's face, which was completely unreadable to him at the moment. A wave of guilt washed over him then. He would try to apologize more properly later, but they were finally reaching their destination now. Len thanked his lucky stars that the dark gloom had disappeared when they finally reached the music room. They opened the door to find the rest of the club members waiting for them. Miku had set her eyes on Rin and Len first as they walked through the door and a smile crossed her face,

"We've been waiting for you! I've come up with a great idea!"

* * *

_**A/N: **_**So...are you _sure_ Rin and Len's relationship isn't moving too fast? Thank you for the support you have shown this story so far! Please leave a review for your feedback! Hopefully I will be able to start updating soon!**


	7. Duet Partners

_**A/N:**_** Yay, I updated! Fortunately, I have had more time to write this. So any delay is due to writer's block. I spent a lot of time the past month or so really furthering the planning for this story and thinking about how I'm going to write certain excerpts. So it hopefully should be getting better! In the meantime enjoy!  
**

* * *

_**Chapter 7**_

_**Duet Partners**_

-:-

"Hurry up, come in, listen to my great idea!" Miku chirped, ushering Rin and Len over.

Miku, Luka, Meiko, and Kaito were sitting at a table by the window of the classroom with a bag of open chips at the center of it. Rin curiously walked forward and sat down next to Miku. Len closed the door behind him and sat at the last empty chair next to Kaito, who had just crunched on a chip. His interest was now focused on Miku. When the club president had seen that she held everyone's attention, she cleared her throat.

"So...for our first concert before summer break coming up, I thought we'd do something new."

Len raised his hand, "Wait, so we perform more than just on the cultural festival?"

"Yes, of course, get with the program here." Meiko interjected.

"Okay." Len slouched in his seat and Kaito had patted him on the back.

"Whoa there, Meiko." Miku chuckled, holding out her hands, "Anyway, I was thinking that for this concert, instead of just having solos, we could have duet numbers too!"

"That sounds like a good plan." Luka nodded, "How many duets should there be and who should sing them?"

"Well..." Miku put her fingers together, smiling almost deviously, "I thought about it for a bit and I really think that Len's voice would mix well with Rin's. So they should be one."

Rin and Len immediately looked at each other as if both of them had sprouted an extra limb. Then it seemed that after that moment, the table's surface was the most interesting thing to Len. Rin leaned toward Miku and hissed at her under her breath. Miku didn't seem to care or even pretend to notice Rin was there. She only smiled as if she had been offered candy. Len looked toward Kaito, who had stopped eating chips at that moment. His eyes were fixed on something briefly before finally snapping out of it, turned toward Len, and shrugged with a smile.

"I have no objections to that," Meiko commented, "Are we going to have one other one, or—"

"I volunteer Miku and Kaito." Rin immediately cut in.

The smile on Miku's face was immediately wiped away. She turned toward Rin with her jaw dropped and hissed under her breath. Rin chuckled darkly at the turned tables and looked back at Miku with glinted eyes.

"_You'll thank me later,_" Rin thought.

At that moment Len glanced at Kaito to see how he reacted. He was confused to find an expression that he couldn't read. It was odd considering Kaito's usual goofy nature. Everyone was snapped back to attention when Miku let out an obnoxiously fake cough, her cheeks lightly brushed with pink.

"Well then," Miku's usual confident voice was slightly shaken, "I thought we could spend today working on writing our own songs. Luka and Meiko, are you fine with just singing another solo."

"Yep." Luka was very quick to say. Len could have sworn that there was a slight smile on her face.

"Okay, let's get to it, then." Meiko immediately stood up to find her own space to work in.

"I did end up finishing the lyrics to that song from last week," Len started, "Aren't we going to practice it?"

"Hm? Oh, that song—great! Don't worry, we'll practice it before long." Miku's devilish smile returned as she sent a glance toward Rin, "By the way, it might be a bit much for everyone to be working separately in the same room, so why don't you two find an empty classroom or something to go to?"

Rin returned her mischievous grin, "That means you do, too, _Ms. Club President_."

"Er...Can I ask why you two are—"

Kaito had been immediately cut off when Miku linked arms with him and escorted him away.

"Oh, it's nothing, Kaito. Don't worry about it! Now let's write beautiful music."

And with that they disappeared into the hallway. Len could have sworn that he saw Meiko shaking with laughter from the corner of his eye.

"Okay, I guess we should go, too." Rin turned away and picked up one of the guitars laying around, "We'll see you later, guys!"

Len suddenly felt himself being tugged away out of the club room. It wasn't until when he had gone a few steps into the hallway that he realized it was Rin's hand gripping the fabric of his sleeve. His stomach went crazy at this realization and his mind immediately went into a flurry.

This was the first time he ever held contact with a girl—but wait, it wasn't even contact! It was more like he was being dragged along, and by the fabric of his uniform! But even so, with the way Len's heart was pounding, apparently this was a big deal to him. He didn't even have enough courage to look at Rin's face, even though she was turned completely away from him.

In the corner of his mind, a tiny little voice told Len that he was probably the saddest person alive.

Even though the distance they traveled was not that far, to Len, the time it took was dragged on for more than he was comfortable with. Rin had brought them to an empty club room with a large desk at the center of it. Len's heart rate started slowing when Rin had let go of him and entered the room. She slung the guitar over her shoulder and brought out a notebook from somewhere, ready to work. Len stared after her for a bit standing in the door frame, seemingly caught in a state of dreamy paralysis.

"Well?" Came Rin's voice.

Len lunged forward into the room and out of his stupefied state, his heart beating a little quicker than normal. As he approached Rin at the desk, she pulled out a notebook and opened it to a blank page. His thoughts still in a little bit of a blur, Len watched Rin like a spectator at first. And it began with Rin not even making an effort to work with him. She acted as if she was on her own, even though her expression was flustered and her entire being was aware that Len was sitting across from her.

Rin pretended to be coming up with ideas by tapping the eraser of her pencil on the notebook. However, the truth was that the entirety of her thoughts were focused on how to deal with the Len seated in front of her. Curse Miku for putting her in this situation! Without thinking, Rin started muttering out loud to herself,

"What should the first lyrics be...?"

Also without thinking, Len blurted the first thing that came to his mind,

"Dissonance in my head..."

Rin snapped away from her forced concentration and looked up at Len. She paused for a moment before she found that intrigue came over her.

"A butterfly on your right shoulder..." She added and then immediately went to write down the two lines in the notebook.

"A butterfly...?" Len questioned.

"What?" Rin seemed to retort defensively.

"Nothing. I'm sure we can fit it in somehow." Len then drummed his fingers on the table, casting his eyes around the room before speaking again, "We probably should have some sort of intro... Mind if I see that?"

Len hesitantly gestured toward the guitar.

Rin glanced between Len and the guitar before slowly handing it to him. Len took it from her, purposely avoiding the touch of her fingers and swung the strap over his shoulder. He shyly glanced up at Rin once or twice before putting his full attention on the guitar.

At first it sounded like Len was just messing around; it was a random assortment of different quality sounds. It was a little bit tentative as well as he kept shying glances at Rin. He would stop to think every now and then, then continue on. As he improvised more and more, the different chords he played gradually link closer together and the way they were being played sounded a little more confident. Then eventually, Len's face lit up enthusiastically.

"How about this?" He then happily played a progression that Rin presumed to be part of the intro to the song being created.

She couldn't help but smile at the huge grin plastered on Len's face. It was the first time she had seen him smile so big. A small giggle passed Rin's lips. Len had apparently misinterpreted her and stopped.

"W-What? I-Is it stupid?"

"No, no," Rin shook her head, finding her sudden giddy behavior odd, "I really like it. Go ahead and write it down." She pushed the notebook toward him.

Len's fingers barely touched the surface of the notebook as he sheepishly smiled. He then had begun to scribble the chord symbols and strumming patterns he had just payed on the guitar. All the while Rin was watching him, her fingers laced together with her chin resting on them.

"So you play guitar as well as the bass?"

Len snapped up from his writing, "Y-Yeah."

"And you sing too as well as know how to write." Rin set her hands on the table, "Where did you learn?"

Len shifted his eyes as though he was debating whether or not to answer Rin. But in the end he sighed and decided to oblige.

"When I was three, I started out learning the piano. My father thought I wasn't being challenged enough so I ended up learning guitar and bass later on. I sung on the side and wrote a little, too."

"It sure doesn't sound like a little." Rin snorted.

Len stuttered a bit at her statement before continuing on, "I had to stop in middle school because of studying for my high school entrance exams, though."

"Then how are you not rusty?"

"I...dabbled a little and read books on what I had learned..."

Rin took in Len's expression. He was blushing and shifting in his seat and radiated awkwardness. But she couldn't help but feel genuinely impressed with him. Rin knew that Len had brains, but she didn't recognize that there was a lot more talent in him than what she had first expected.

"W-What...?" Len stammered when he noticed Rin staring at him.

In return, Len brought her hand to her lips and let out a boyish giggle, "Nerd..."

"Hey!" Len pouted.

Rin laughed, "I'm kidding. I'm actually kinda glad you and I are singing together."

And to her surprise, that statement was true and genuine. Even though a bit of nervousness was with her, she continued to smile at him. Len's face melted into a grin at her expression and rubbed the back of his head with his palm.

"I'm glad we get to sing together, too."

-:-

"So you've noticed it, too?"

Luka looked up from the piano she was playing on and looked over the sheet music she was writing to Meiko. The brunete was staring back at her with a slight smirk on her face from across the music room. She had stopped playing the guitar she was dabbling on shortly before and now had her full attention put on the pinkette. Luka smiled back at her.

"Why do you think I also didn't object to Ms. Club President putting them together for a duet? You felt the same way, right?"

Meiko threw her head up in laughter, her giggles howling throughout the room.

"Though they do have a long way to go. It's barely noticable and both are probably as dense as cardboard. But there's no question that _something_ is there."

"Oh, playing matchmaker, are we?"

"Not really compared to the little Hatsune over there. I'm just a spectator for now."

"Though...we really should be careful." Luka's smile had faded into a straight line.

Meiko's eyes widened when she caught the hint in Luka's voice. She cast her eyes to the side, thinking back for a moment.

"Yeah, I know... it's been a while but the whole thing is still a little raw." The small smile returned when Meiko lookd back up to Luka, "But it would be nice if this washed it away, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, it would," Luka traced her finger along the piano keys, "Who knows? Len might be able to do that. But hopefully no woulds will be opened up in the process."

Luka played a little bit of the song she was writing on the piano, humming along with her potential vocal line. Meiko was still looking at Luka over her guitar. This was Luka's attempt to clear the thick atmosphere that had gathered. Evidently, it had worked when suddenly the sound of the piano had silenced in the room and was followed by the bell tone of Luka's laughter.

"Now what about the other two? If that isn't obvious enough..."

Meiko laughed sheepishly and murmured to herself, "There's only one thing I'm worried about when it comes to them..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

Meiko returned to strumming on her guitar and with that, Luka shrugged her shoulders and continued scribbling on her sheet music.

-:-

"So what exactly are you trying to pull, Miku?" Rin put her hands on her hips as she walked side-by-side with the teal-haired schemer.

"Whatever do you mean, Rinny?" She smirked in return, "I do honestly think your voices would sound good together, so why not pass up an opportunity to give the fans something new?"

Rin sighed heavily as she threw her arms up in the air and looked back towards the sidewalk they were walking on. The orange sky above them was enough to just barely cover the pink that colored her cheeks.

"You're being suspicious."

"And I suppose you think I'll start making him walk home with you instead?"

"I might as well be with the way you're acting!" Rin snapped. She huffed before a smirk crossed her lips, "How was your time with Kaito?"

"Oh, it was fine," Miku tried to play Rin off, but not even the dyed sky was enough to conceal the red on her face, "The song we're writing is kind of like a twist on Cinderella."

Rin's expression was truly devilish as she looked towards Miku. In return, Miku puffed her cheeks and folded her arms.

"I'm not the only one here in this situation."

"Oh, I think you are," Rin's smile continued, "Because I don't have feelings for my partner the way you do for—"

Rin suddenly felt hands that were not her own cover her mouth. A moment of panic swept over her as she felt herself stumble backwards and almost lose her footing. Fortunately for Rin, the only thing that fell to the sidewalk was her bag. But unfortunately for Miku, her composure was almost completely shattered as she continued to hold her hands over Rin's mouth with her bottom lip quivering and her face pumping the reddest color imaginable. They both stood there for a moment until Miku broke the silence.

"Don't say it out loud...!" She yelled in a hushed tone.

Miku had finally released Rin and had picked up her bag for her and dusted it off. Rin took it without a word and the two continued to walk down the sidewalk together.

"Was that move you pulled back in the club room revenge for me pairing you and Len up as duet partners?" Miku's voice shook a little.

"Oh, yeah."

"Hmph." Miku then put a hand to her lips to conceal her smile as she thought, "_You'll thank me later, though._"

* * *

_**A/N: **_**I can say that from here, the plot is finally going to progress at a steady rate (hopefully). Please continue to leave me your feedback and how you think this story is going! Like what you like most, what you dislike the most, etc. I really appreciate your thoughtful reviews. :)**


	8. Did Someone Say Sports Festival?

_**A/N: **_**First off...I sincerely apologize for the lateness! It's been a combination of hibernating from the tough semester, writer's block, getting a job, and then very suddenly becoming super busy at said job. It shouldn't last for too much longer though as far as busy-ness is concerned. I've already started a little bit of the next chapter so hopefully there won't be _as_ much of a gap to the next update. :) Enjoy!**

* * *

_**Chapter 8**_

_**Did Someone Say Sports Festival?**_

-:-

"Ow ow ow ow ow OW!"

"Was that too far? Geez, Len, you're like a delicate little stick aren't you?" Piko laughed as he slackened his stretch a little.

Len felt a wave of relief throughout his body and couldn't help but let out a loud sigh. They were stretching far enough, why did Piko feel the need to pull _farther_?

"Len, we aren't even stretching that far." Piko answered Len's thoughts.

Who came up with this awful stretch anyway? Len had his back against Piko's with their arms linked around the elbows. Piko was bending forward, leaving Len's back to arch in a painfully unnatural position. The weather was a little on the warm side for a Spring day and Len didn't like that either—not a cloud in the sky. Of all days to have P.E., it had to be today.

"Okay, let's switch."

Len grumbled in agreement and wondered how Piko was unaffected by all the conditions and elements. The two stood upright, arms still linked together. Len couldn't help but relish the moment of relief on his body. It was very brief, however, because Len soon began to feel the weight of Piko on his back. He had begun to tremble under the heaviness as his midriff screamed in ache.

"Len, P.E. Is not your forte, is it?"

"N-No!" Len groaned in frustration.

The two straightened once again when Piko had felt Len shake even more. Len's hand immediately wandered around his own back and midriff, trying to soothe the pain that plagued him. He gaped at Piko who looked completely unfazed and was even rolling his neck and stretching side to side.

"How are you enjoying this?" Len's patience was growing thin.

"Well, Len," Piko swing his arm around Len's shoulder, "Just like how you're super good in basically every subject, I happen to be super good at sports!"

"R-Really? Are you in any sports clubs, Piko?"

"Like I said, the one club I want to be in is the Vocaloids." Piko's expression grew oddly dark, sending a shiver down Len's spine.

"Er..."

"Anyway, Len, what are you going to do about the sports festival coming up?"

Len's face twisted in disgust, "Sports festival?"

Piko's prediction was proven to be true the next day in homeroom—much to Len's dismay. When called on by the teacher, the class representative made her way to the front of the room for the announcements. She started scribbling words on the chalk board at the front of the room. As Len began to read them, his stomach sank low. The girl had a bright air of cheerfulness surrounding her, which Len found odd. When she was finished writing, she turned around and addressed the class,

"As I'm sure you're all aware, Yamaha Academy's sports festival is fast approaching!" A gleam shown in the class representative's eyes as she spoke at the front of the classroom.

The class broke out into whispers, some students murmuring about how excited they were and others groaning in dismay while some didn't care at all. Perhaps the one that was the most distraught was Len Kagamine, who had slumped lower in his seat. He did not look forward to it at his old school, so naturally he did not look forward to it now.

"I've written the activities the second years will be participating in on the board. We're asked that each of us is to take part in at least one event. There's the 100 meter dash, the obstacle course, the relay..."

Len began to tune out. The words that the class representative had streaming out of her mouth forcibly brought up some nasty memories: An awfully bright sun, weights that seemed to bring down Len's legs, a breathless day, and planting on the rough dirt on multiple occasions. How could anybody enjoy an event like this let alone the activities that lead to such horrible outcomes?

"I'll participate in all the events!" Piko happily raised his hand.

Len's jaw dropped at Piko's outrageous behavior as the class rep marked on the board. He turned toward him with the expression on his face screaming "why?" Piko looked back and seemed to have interpreted Len correctly because he had silently chuckled before leaning over to whisper to him.

"This is one of my favorite school events!"

"But all of them? Really?"

"Why not?" Piko smiled.

"I'll participate in the 100 meter dash." Rin Kagamine's voice was immediately caught by Len's ears.

He turned to where her voice came from as the class rep marked the board again. For some reason, Len started staring at Rin and could not look away. He was trying to read her expression; yes, that was his excuse. Len was so intent on figuring out what her expression meant that not even Piko calling him could divert his attention. Then suddenly—

"Kagamine Len!" Bellowed the class rep's voice.

"Yes?" Len snapped to attention.

"You're the only one who hasn't asked for an event so you'll be participating in the three-legged race."

"Wha..."

Len was too absorbed in the moment to notice that there were some sporadic giggles from his classmates towards his oblivious reaction. The three-legged race...wasn't that a type of event not meant for klutzes like Len? Being tied up to someone while running wasn't exactly an appealing thought. Len held a dumbfounded look until Piko shook him from his thoughts with a whisper.

"It's not like you to space out like that, Len."

Len's eyes shifted to the girl wearing a large, white bow on the other end of the classroom. Subsequently, a tightness in his chest had followed along with a prickling sensation on his cheeks.

"I-I know..."

Len shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, tousling it even more and clearing his mind along with the color on his cheeks. No, it really wasn't like him to space out like that. Although he would have a jumbled mind at times, he was always very attentive. And that lack of attentiveness seemed to bring him to a troublesome situation. He knew he was to participate in at least one event as according to the class representative's words, but this seemed so sudden and unexpected for him. The three-legged race? Why couldn't he have participated in something easier?

The thoughts of what if's and why's were running through Len's head all through that morning. It was more stressful to him than any test from any subject could be. It was during lunch when he finally snapped.

"Piko, what do I do?!" Len sputtered as he moved his desk next to Piko's.

"Oh, my gosh..."

"What?"

"The honors student is asking me a question of advice!"

"Piko, I'm being serious!"

Piko laughed for a good few seconds before he was interrupted by a group of four girls approaching them. To Len's great discomfort, they hovered over Len and giggled as their "leader" spoke up for them.

"Kagamine, may we sit with you during lunch today?" She was batting her eyelashes at him.

As if Len wasn't under enough stress already...

"We can share a bit of my lunch, too, if you're still hungry after eating yours!" Another girl had spoken up.

The girls around her shushed and hissed at her. Leaving her a little flustered, the rest of the girls turned back to Len with sparkling eyes. If one could look close enough, perhaps they could see glittering stars swirling through space.

"Well?" The first girl had spoken up again.

"Uh..."

"Actually, I'll be eating with him and Utatane today."

The group of girls darted their heads around and parted to reveal Rin standing just behind them. There was an odd pause of silence for everyone to register the new development. Piko's jaw dropped and Len rolled his lips in while Rin simply smiled. The girls that surrounded Len looked between him and Rin before they gradually withdrew.

"Oh, okay." The leader of the group started, "Well, we'll see you later, Kagamine! And...Kagamine."

Len wasn't quite sure what had happened then. It was some sort of non-verbal signal that the girls had used to somehow communicate? Regardless of what happened, all he knew at this very moment was how tight his chest was feeling.

"Wait," Piko cut in, "did you say...'_and_ Utatane'?!"

"Well, you're Len's friend, aren't you?"

As a response, Piko began to force his face into his food. Even though Rin had said that, she was still a bit tentative in her voice, though Piko was a bit too overjoyed to notice. When she had scooted a desk over, she had placed herself a litle closer to Len. Being extremely aware of his surroundings and senses at that moment, Len noticed this and felt beads of sweat forming on the back of his neck. And a bit of a certain feeling in his stomach...was it pleasure?

"S-So Rin, why aren't you eating lunch with Miku and Luka today?"

"Am I not allowed to choose who I eat lunch with?"

"Yeah, is she not allowed to?!" Piko cut in, spewing a few crumbs from his mouth.

"No, what I meant was—"

"Geez, can't you take a joke?" Rin laughed, "Besides, Miku and Luka ran off to some mystery place to eat lunch and I can't find them."

Rin had her suspicions. She told herself that she would heavily interrogate and possibly murder Miku later on.

"You're always welcome to eat with us!" Piko beamed.

"Th-Thanks." Rin smiled sheepishly.

"I-Is it all right if I call you Rin?!" More crumbs flew from Piko's mouth.

Len laughed sheepishly and nudged Piko's leg under the desk with his foot. Piko had snapped out of his excitement and had begun rubbing the back of his head with embarrassment.

"Ha...S-Sorry, I got a little carried away."

"No, it's fine. You can call me Rin. I'll call you Piko."

Piko's eyes lit up and sparkled—akin to a puppy's. Before he could say another word, however, Len balled his fist and coughed into it. Much like how a remote changes channels on the TV, that seemed to switch the topic of conversation.

"So Len," Rin started, "I heard some mild panicking from you before I came over just now?"

Len face-planted onto his desk, just missing the curry bread that he was eating for lunch.

"Oh. You triggered a sensitive topic, Rin."

"Does it have anything to do with the sports festival?" Rin snickered.

Rin's suspicions were affirmed when a muffled groan came from Len. Roughly patting his back with her palm, Rin let out a small snort of laughter.

"It's just the three-legged race, Len. No one takes it seriously."

"_Anything_ that is sports related should be taken seriously!" Len snapped, suddenly lifting his head from the desk.

"But I thought athletics weren't your forte?" Piko tilted his head.

"And that's precisely why." Len frowned. Then shortly thereafter, he lifted his hands to his face and covered himself.

"Well Len, aren't you the epitome of 'nerd?' Super smart, used to dress _way_ too properly, and now I find out you're bad at P.E." Rin grinned.

"You don't need to rub it in..." Len slouched further in his chair.

"If it makes you feel better, I'll make sure we get paired up for the three-legged race," Piko sighed.

Len leaned forward towards Piko, a smile crawling on his face. His eyes grew wider and wider and sparkled as a wave of relief rushed through him.

"Really?" Len squeaked.

"Y-Yeah..." Piko sheepishly laughed. Mainly since he found Len's behavior odd.

"Just don't make him fall."

"R-Rin!" Len whined.

"Don't worry," Piko waved his hand before suddenly leaning forward, "So Rin, let's hear about you!"

Both Rin and Len sighed simultaneously.

As Piko continued to press Rin to conversation, full of excitement, Luka and Miku sat in a much more tranquil place. They were far from their classroom, and right when the bell for lunch rang, Miku had immediately grabbed Luka's wrist and dragged her off through the halls and outside. She had barely enough time to even grab her bento box that she had made for herself. Now the two sat alongside each other, lunches on their laps, and remaining in comfortable silence.

"Isn't this such a nice change of pace for lunch, Luka?" Miku mumbled through chewing a bite of rice.

Miku and Luka were sitting outside with their backs against the school building. The grass below them was cool and inviting as the shadow from the towering building shielded them from the sun. Luka had just finished swallowing a croquette before turning towards Miku to give her a smirk.

"And I suppose not telling Rin where we're eating was part of the 'change of pace?'"

"Whatever do you mean?" Miku took a bite out of one of her vegetables.

"_At least I'm not telling her to walk home with him yet._" She thought, a narrow-eyed smile on her face, "_She's probably going to murder me later, though..._"

-:-

Len's anxieties over the event he was to participate in the upcoming sports festival were lessened with Piko's reassurance. However, it was impossible for his nervousness on the matter to completely dissipate. As the day passed, Len found he could not stop thinking about the three-legged race. He would carefully observe the way people walked in the school hallways and would match paces with them as if he was trying to practice. Even during club activities, Len seemed a little more antsy than usual.

"Okay, Len, let's play through your solo now." Miku turned away from the mic stand to look at Len behind her.

Len was staring at something on his music stand very intently. It was as if Miku's words had merely went in one ear and passed straight through the other.

"Len?"

Rin elbowed Len in the arm from where she stood next to him.

He jumped suddenly, "Y-Yes?"

Miku shifted her eyes, "Um...your solo? We're going to play through it now. You finished the lyrics and practiced it a little, right?"

"Oh..." Len was blank for a little bit before something switched on in his mind, which had caused him to perk up, "Yeah! Yeah, I'll sing now. Sing...now, I guess..."

Len murmured the last bit as he basically stumbled forward toward where Miku stood next to the mic stand. Miku stared at him approaching stiffly and cracked a small smile at his awkwardness. She stepped to the side before looking at him up and down.

"Len, you still have the bass guitar on you."

"Oh! Yeah..." Len removed the strap from his shoulder and held the bass toward Miku.

"Go ahead and give the bass to Kaito, I'll play guitar."

Without speaking, Len jerked away from Miku and held the bass out toward Kaito, who had just stood up from a seat at the table. Kaito walked toward him with a sympathetic smile on his face, eyebrows arched and mouth tilted crookedly.

"Are you okay?" He asked quietly, taking the guitar from him.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm perfectly fine." Len blurted out without much thought and walked back to the mic stand.

He saw in the corner of his eye Rin lifting her hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh. To this, Len madly blushed since he knew that Rin was probably aware of what was going on in his mind. He could hear a few loud whispers from Meiko talking to Luka, but Len tried to clear his mind of all distractions as he adjusted himself to sing. Once he was ready, Luka clicked her drum sticks together to count off. Len inhaled and gripped the microphone as he started singing.

"_I'm glad I could love you from the start"_

_Is what I'll sing to the sky..._

If asked, Len definitely would say that he was proud to be finally singing full-on again. The sound of his voice echoing through the microphone briefly sent chills down his arms, especially with the music everyone was playing to accompany him. It sounded great, even if his voice was a little nervous-sounding. And for a brief moment, he actually stopped thinking about that dreaded sports festival. However, as the song went on, and Len gradually adjusted to performing, his mind began to wander. It found in the corner of his thoughts, his anxieties over the sports festival and the three-legged race returned and was brought to the forefront. Len's voice began to waver in some spots and he grew oddly stiff. His body was less relaxed and he could hardly move his arm without it being a jerky motion. All of Len's movements translated to nervous fidgeting.

"Len, is there a reason why you're hopping like that while singing?" Meiko removed her fingers from the keyboard when they had finished playing through Len's song, "Are those supposed to be dance moves? Because that's not dancing."

"You look like you need to go to the bathroom, dude." Kaito snorted.

Len looked back at Kaito playing the bass with a pout on his face, puffing his cheeks and furrowing his eyebrows in frustration. With a great puff of air, Len sighed and slouched his shoulders, trying to relax and get the sports festival out of his mind.

"Seriously, Len. What's the deal?" Miku placed one hand on her hip while the other held onto her strapped guitar, "You've been acting weird ever since you walked in the room."

"N-No, it's nothing! Can we run through it one more time? I'll try not to let my voice be so shaky this time."

"If you're this nervous now, I'd hate to see you at the concert." Luka clicked her drumsticks together.

"I'm not nervous for the concert!"

Rin laughed, "No, he's just nervous for this three-legged race he's forced to participate in for the sports festival."

A look of gloom crossed Len's face at that moment and he looked at Rin in complete and utter dismay. She had betrayed him. His stomach sunk low and his shoulders seemed to slump even more. Then shortly after, a prickling sensation of embarrassment traveled up his neck and to his cheeks when everyone else had started chuckling at him.

"Rin..." Len groaned.

"Sorry, Len." Rin's apology didn't seem too sincere behind her giggles.

"You're actually nervous about something with the sports festival?" Luka smiled.

"He's taking the three-legged race very seriously." Rin had answered before he could open his mouth.

"Rin..." Len whined.

"He kind of really sucks at sports and athletics, so..."

"Rin!"

Rin snorted with laughter again, "Sorry Len, I couldn't help it."

Len felt as if steam was coming out of his ears as his cheeks prickled with a strange sensation. He tried to narrow his eyes and glare at Rin, but the expression must have failed because she only laughed harder. A sigh that had been building up escaped Len heavily at that point, and he rubbed the back of his head.

"So you're the epitome of 'nerd' huh, kid?" Meiko started, "I mean you..."

"Is it 'pick on Len day' or something?!"

Although it was not an official holiday of sorts, Len was correct in assuming that it was a day he was relentlessly teased. Once the other club members had found out his worry over the simple three-legged race, they would seize every opportunity they could to comment to Len about it. By the end of the day, Len had grown quite numb—it was as if his energy had been spent from the combination of constantly worrying, schoolwork, and reacting to the teasing.

When the club rehearsal was over, everyone gathered up their things and cleaned up as usual. Luka had left first saying that her car was waiting for her. Meiko, Kaito had left second and dragged Len along with them. Kaito had swung his arm over Len's shoulder and laughed a little, briefly apologizing for his jesting behavior towards him earlier. And so the only two that were left in the music room were Miku and Rin. Instead of leaving right away, however, once the door had closed behind Kaito, Meiko, and Len, she approached Miku slowly. The twin-tail stood next to the desk sifting through some papers until Rin had caught her attention.

"We need to talk." Rin murmured.

* * *

_**A/N: **_**So what do you think Rin is going to talk to Miku about?**__**So**** there you have it! The story progresses more. I'm really trying to develop relationships besides Rin and Len, so I hope I'm not boring you too much or failing at that. And just to note, I still don't have a proofreader, so if there were any sentences that were confusing or misused punctuation or any typos, please let me know! And as always, please leave a review! I absolutely love reading your thoughtful feedback!**


	9. A Hard Tongue, But Soft Touch

_**A/N: **_**Wow! This is the ****first time I've gotten 100 reviews on a story before it was finished! Thanks a lot, everyone! Here's another update!**

* * *

_**Chapter 9**_

_**A Hard Tongue, But Soft Touch**_

-:-

"Miku..." Rin growled the name. She was sure everyone else was out of earshot and well away from the club room before she had unleashed her venom.

Miku straightened a stack of music sheets on the desk. Innocently, she looked up at Rin and tilted her head. A smile played on her lips as she gazed at the glowering girl with the large, white bow standing before her.

"Why, what's wrong, Rin? You seem awfully angry with something." A laugh was plainly behind her words.

"Don't play dumb with me." Rin hissed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Miku could hardly contain her giggles.

The roar that had been bubbling up inside of Rin finally escaped at that moment, "During lunch today! I know you didn't just run off and hide with Luka on accident!"

"What if Luka and I both had something to do during lunch that caused us to go somewhere else to take care of our duties?"

Rin narrowed her eyes and simply glared at Miku with her mouth slightly open. Her eyebrows had twitched upwards, and she gave a slow, sarcastic nod. Miku sighed when she gave up trying to get Rin into her joke. Removing all facade, she broke her poker face expression and released the innocent girl act she had kept.

"Okay, fine," Miku breathed out, "We ate in a different spot so that you would go and have lunch with Len instead."

"How did you know I wouldn't have just gone to where the third years were and have lunch with Kaito and Meiko instead?"

Miku shrugged, but a smirk was forcing its way onto her lips, "Just a hunch."

Rin breathed out and set both of her hands on the table, staring at Miku square-on, "I'll be blunt. Are you trying to set me up with him?"

Miku smiled sweetly—almost too sweetly, "No, of course not. I'm just giving you opportunities."

"Opportunities for _what_ exactly?" Rin was trying to make herself look as large as possible as she leaned farther and farther forward.

Miku was unfazed, "Opportunities for you to be able to talk to the male gender more easily."

"Somehow I think you're lying." Rin was blatantly unamused by all this, "You know more than anyone that I'm not looking for a relationship right now!"

"I may be lying and I may be not lying," Miku's voice became calmer and softer as the smile on her face became more sincere, "But I really think he's good for you to get close to, regardless."

"Miku, you should know better than anyone..." Rin's voice wavered just a bit.

At that moment, Miku stood up and walked around the table so that she stood next to Rin and took the hands that were planted down on the desk's surface into her own.

"Rin, do you want to lose to all this? This is for your own good, I promise. You can really trust this one. Not all guys are bad."

Rin bit her lip for a moment before sighing and relaxing her shoulders that had been tense until then. She looked at Miku and tried to glare at her again, but it was not as effective as it was before. A hesitant smile replaced her features as she studied Miku's face with eyebrows arched inward and her eyes a little glassy. Miku only clutched her hands a little tighter and returned her expression with a soft smile. That smile gradually turned into a small chuckle.

"I have to say, though...I've never seen you laugh and joke around so much with a guy before. Not even Kaito."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing at all. Just that I see he seems to make you happy," Miku winked.

Rin's pale features were suddenly colored when pink dusted her cheeks, "Th-That doesn't mean anything! We're just friends! It doesn't mean that I...I...I l-l—"

"Like him?"

"Yes! I don't! So stop accusing me!"

"I wasn't accusing you of anything, Rin," Miku snickered, letting go of Rin's hands, "It was you who actually went off accusing yourself."

Rin's blush grew darker, "Sh-Shut up! We're still just friends!"

"Mmhm..." Miku went to gather her bag with Rin following close behind her, "Okay."

"And no matter what, I'm not looking to be in a relationship!"

"Yes, yes. I know," Miku replied nonchalantly as they made their way out of the music room together.

-:-

The day of the sports festival had arrived and Len was a nervous wreck. From the moment he woke up that morning, his stomach was in tight knots. The churning and nausea was so intense, he nearly believed that he had the stomach flu. What had kept Len from staying home was the thought of letting his three-legged race partner down. Piko was kind enough to volunteer to help him out, so he wasn't going to put that in vain by feigning sickness. So Len went to school with a pale face and anxiety nipping at him.

That was what lead Len to be standing outside near the track in his gym clothes in the midst of his classmates. His body was stiff and his face was pasty white while cold sweat ran down his temples.

"Len, you're sweating already?"

Len jumped at the sound of Rin's voice; he had nearly forgotten that she was standing next to him. He twitched again when Piko had patted him on the shoulder.

"Len, you'll be okay. It's really not as big a deal as you think."

Len laughed nervously, "Haha...right."

"Well, I'm off to the next event... see you!"

And with that, Piko jogged off toward the track. He was about to participate in the third event that day and Len marvelled at his stamina. He wondered how it was possible someone could take on so much strenuous physical activity—and willingly, no less. He then realized that the three-legged race was one even closer and his heart began to pound a bit again. Luckily, Len wasn't left to his thoughts for too long.

"Hey, Rin! Hey, Len!"

The crowd parted slightly to reveal Miku and Luka approaching the blonde duo. By the way they were panting and sweating, it looked as thought they had participated in the recently passed event.

"Hey, Miku. Hey, Luka. How was the class relay?" Rin smiled at their approach.

"Well, I'm sure you saw that our class didn't win." Miku adjusted her tousled hair, "But at least I don't have to worry about anything else, now."

"And personally, I couldn't care less about winning or losing," Luka pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

"Wait, so you guys were a part of the class relay?" Len cut in, seemingly snapping out of a daydream.

"Yes, weren't you watching us?" Miku tilted her head to the side.

"I'm afraid Len has been a bit of a daydreamer all this morning," Rin giggled from next to him.

"And he looks kind of pale, too. Len, are you all right?" Luka leaned in so that she could observe his features closer.

At that moment, Len was reminded of his anxiety and he felt a particularly strong turn in his stomach. To repress it, he balled a fist and held it to his mouth as he let out a single, heavy cough. It was hesitant at first, but Len felt fingers gently rub the arched contour of his back then. The touch was so soft and gentle, that he immediately melted into it. Len wondered for a brief moment how he must have looked then, because he had heard a small giggle from a certain twin-tail. Len snapped to attention and very shortly realized that the fingers on his back belonged to the person standing next to him: the one and only Rin Kagamine. His face immediately went from a pasty white to a deep crimson and he only coughed more.

"Er..." Rin started to speak when she realized Len was too busy coughing, "I'm sure it's just nerves," She removed her hand from his back once he finished.

"Well, Len," Miku began, moving a little closer to him, "Pull yourself together at least a little bit. I've been happening to hear a few conversations, and it appears that your ever growing fan club is anxious to see you on the track."

"Wait, what?"

"At events like these for the Vocaloids, it's pretty much our time to give fan service."

"F-Fan service?" Len was turning white again.

He was already anxious enough. And now supposedly being watched? By a bunch of fan girls? Len bent over and arched his back even more. Now he really felt like throwing up after becoming aware of his "audience."

"Miku, I don't think that helped..." Rin murmured.

"Seriously, I hope he's not like this for when our contest comes around," Luka sighed.

"I just _really hate sports_, okay?!" Len barked as he snapped his head up.

"Just hang in there," Miku smiled and reached up to pat Len's shoulder.

Len pouted and shrunk a little under her touch. Off in the distance, he noticed Piko running in the 500 meter dash for the second years. He let out a sigh as all he could think about was how much he wanted that day to be over.

"Okay, well, we're going to head back to our class. We'll see you guys later!" Miku chirped as she turned with Luka to another direction.

Len barely noticed them taking their leave as he did not stop his stream of thoughts at that moment. He couldn't help but think how much irony was in this situation. Everyone looked energetic around him, the sky was bright and cheerful, the weather was warm and sunny, yet gloom would not stop looming around Len. He thought of the three-legged race again and had begun to arch forward once more.

"My goodness, Len, get a hold of yourself!" Rin shook him a little to take him from his thoughts.

-:-

The time had finally come for the three-legged race. After the first year students had finished, it was time for the second years. Len had reached the point where he had gone past the sickness of his anxiety and was now running on pure adrenaline. He felt absolutely nothing in his stomach—no appetite and no tight knots—and his muscles were stiffer than ever before.

"Len? Len, hello? We're up!" Piko waved his hand in front of Len's face.

Piko looked a little tired from participating in all the events up to that point, bu the still attempted to put on an energetic front. Len blinked once or twice before finally realizing what words had come out of his mouth. He groaned under his breath before finally moving, his bones and muscles seemingly creaking from the motion after being stiff for so long. Shuddering briefly, Len began walking toward the track with Piko standing next to him.

"Len!" Rin called just before they had gone too far away.

Len instantly turned around then, as if Rin's voice was a leash that drew him back. He was met with two wide, blue eyes and an expression of anticipation mixed with a bit of hesitance. She had opened her mouth, but it took a moment for her to speak,

"G-Good luck! A-And good luck to you, too, Piko!"

Len grinned from ear to ear when he saw her expression that had followed. Rin had flushed a little and had begun to shift her hair while glancing side to side, shyly batting her eyelashes as she blinked. Rin had come off to Len as a very strong personality, but he had come to appreciate the moments of a shy girl that would sometimes emerge. Suddenly, Len felt a sudden shock of pain in the side and realized that Piko had elbowed him, thus distracting him from Rin. When he shifted his head to the side where Piko was standing next to him, what Len saw was a large grin on his face.

"You hear that? She wished us luck!" Piko beamed, "I keep saying you're made of magic, and you are!"

"Piko..." Len sighed, trying to wave the heat away from his face.

"Dude, maybe... we have a chance!"

"What are you talking about?" Len murmured, nervousness escalating half because they were closing in on the track and half because he knew what Piko was getting at."

"You know..." Piko elbowed Len and wiggled his eyebrows.

"S-Stop that!" Len punched his arm away, his countenance reddening ten times over, "That doesn't mean anything!"

"Stand with your partners at the beginning of the track and we'll tie your legs together!" A voice suddenly cut in.

The teacher had spoke so suddenly that Len jumped as if a surge of electricity suddenly flew through him. Suddenly everything in Len's mind went blank as his brain slowly processed the words one by one. He was thinking of absolutely nothing until the only thing that crawled to the front of his thoughts was the three-legged race. Len recalled that awkwardly empty feeling in his stomach again as something chilling coursed through his arms and legs. Piko was saying something to him, but Len could not make out anything comprehensible from his words. All he could grasp at that moment was that he was standing on the track next to Piko.

"Len...? Len, hello? Did you hear what I just said?" Those words had drawn Len back.

"Uh...huh?"

Piko sighed, "We'll start with the inner leg first. And I'll try to count to keep us in rhythm," Piko then noticed Len's expression and chuckled, "Man, you need to relax! This is one of the more laid back events!"

"It just feels like everyone is watching me..." Len barely managed to choke out.

"I think you're imagining things, Len..."

Len sighed and lifted his hand to brush his tousled bangs out of his face and wipe the sweat off of his forehead. Just then, off in the distance, he could hear a high pitched squeal. He turned his head to the direction from where the sound came from and saw a huddle of girls staring directly at him while swooning and sighing. Len turned his head toward Piko and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, at least they're admiring you from a distance!"

Len was about to reply, but was cut off when he felt something draw around his left leg and skin come into contact with Piko's. It was starting... it was starting... it was _starting!_

"Get into positions!" The P.E. teacher called out.

Piko wrapped an arm around Len and instinctively, Len responded by mimicking him.

"Just follow my lead, Len."

"Ready!"

Len could feel his body move without his mind's consent.

"...And start!"

Len didn't know exactly what happened, but he felt himself stumble forward immediately. He faltered a bit and panicked before Piko spoke up.

"Geez, Len, I said follow my lead! Here, just listen to my counting. Ready? One, two, one, two..."

Len regained some of his mind as he slowly felt himself going into sync with Piko. He focused more and more on Piko's counting and found that as he did so, his thoughts gradually became clearer. Len found a tempo in his rhythm and followed it, relying on that musical part of him that decided to come forward. The farther they went, the more exhilarated Len became—he was actually succeeding! As he ran with Piko on the track, he heard another swoon from a group of girls. As a reflex, Len turned his head up toward the sound. What his eyes were drawn to, however, was not the clump of overexcited fan girls, but someone standing just off of them, and it was the large, white bow on her head that caught his attention.

Even though he was far away, Len could tell that a smile was plastered on her face. More of Len's body came to him from that awkward nothing as he felt something fly through his stomach. Len could feel a grin crawl on his face as he continued to look at her as he passed. The feeling was short-lived, however, because the balance he had built up with Piko was suddenly thrown when the rhythm they had was broken.

"L-Len!" Piko's voice came out as strained before everything crashed...

...Quite literally, actually.

Len felt his body fall forward and the track below him drew closer and closer. He felt Piko next to him falter a bit and soon after a stinging pain shot through his leg. Len's cheek rubbed against the rough ground and the moment his body crashed, his mind went blank for a second. The next moment, Len realized what had happened and attempted to push himself off the ground. Piko had just regained his balance and grabbed Len's arms to pull him back up. Len felt a rush of wind as he went back to stand on his feet again.

"Are you okay?" Piko breathed.

"Yeah..."

"Okay, let's go. Ready? One, two—"

"Ow!" Len gasped, suddenly feeling the sting in his leg again.

Both of them stopped as Len looked down at himself to assess the possible damage. What he saw was a large gash in his knee, blood beading the surface of his skin with remnants of the track wedged into the wound. Len flinched and felt light headed for a split second.

"Holy crap, Len!" Piko cried, "You decided to love gravity!"

Len shot Piko a perplexed look as the P.E. teacher trotted over to them.

"Are you two okay?"

"I am. But I think Len needs to go to the nurse—"

The P.E. teacher cut Piko off by motioning them off of the track. The two limped with their legs still tied together. When they were clear, the P.E. teacher frowned and looked down at Len's knee.

"Utatane, can you take Kagamine to the nurse?"

Piko opened his mouth, but a thought had caught him evidently because he had froze with no sound coming out He changed his expression before he spoke again.

"I'm signed up for the event that's after this."

"Len, are you okay?" Rin was rushing toward them now.

A smirk crossed Piko's face as Rin reached them while she looked Len over and winced when she saw the scrape on his knee.

"Rin can take him, though. She doesn't have any more events today," Piko finished.

Len tensed, a fluttering feeling passing through him for a moment before looking at Rin, who displayed quite a bit more emotion than her usual self. He felt the P.E. teacher remove the cord that bound his and Piko's legs together.

"All right, Kagamine. Take...Kagamine to the nurse, will you?"

"Sure," Rin consented, moving beside Len.

"Utatane, go ahead and get a drink of water. Don't worry about finishing the race, obviously," the P. E. teacher then left the three students, moving on to his other duties.

"Piko, I'm so sorry!" Len suddenly blurted.

"Don't worry about it," Piko waved his hand and started walking away, "Just let Rin treat that knee for you, okay?"

As Piko left, Len could practically hear the wink in his voice. Besides wasn't it the nurse herself that did the treating? Then he realized that he and Rin were alone. Fortunately, before he could feel any sort of nervousness, Rin had spoken up.

"Come on, let's go."

She had started walking straight away and Len followed—or at least he tried to. He flinched when the pain shot through him again, and immediately slowed down as a reflex. Rin looked back and simply stood in front of him for a moment, obviously hesitating about something. Whatever she was battling in her mind was resolved, however, because she shortly began moving again, positioning herself next to Len. Rin grasped one of Len's arms and swing it around her neck. Len froze even more when he felt her arm slip around his waist. This was definitely touching as opposed to the time when she simply dragged him by the fabric of his sleeve. If someone were to talk to Len at that point, he probably would have blabbered nothing and sputtered sounds.

Come on, it was safe to say they were friends now. Why was Len so nervous? And she was simply helping him walk to the nurse's office, nothing more.

...And then he thought of how soft her skin was against his.

"Len are you okay? You keep flinching."

"I-It just stings a little."

"You sure are living up to your title as the 'epitome of nerd,' huh?"

"Hey, anyone could have fallen, okay? It _was_ the three-legged race."

"Sure, anyone who has a prominent trait of clumsiness can fall." Rin snickered back.

"You're not going to give me a break, are you?" Len sighed.

Rin laughed back at him as they entered the school building. Len noted that the atmosphere was less tense as he took the opportunity to lean on Rin a little, relieving some of the stress on his knee. He quickly reversed his action, however, when he realized what he just did and when Rin let out a grunt.

"G-Geez, Len, you're heavy," her face flushed a little.

"S-Sorry..."

The rest of the walk to the nurse's room passed in silence with the occasional grunt and whine from Len. When they had reached the nurse's office, Rin's hold on Len slackened a little as she opened the door.

"Excuse me—"

"Oh!" The nurse turned around suddenly as if she was interrupted.

The nurse's eyes traveled from Rin to Len. She bit her lip when she saw the gash on Len's knee and looked as if she was debating something in her mind. When her eyes traveled back to Rin, the nurse spoke again.

"Kagamine, do you feel comfortable taking care of and dressing the wound that...er..."

"Kagamine Len," Len answered."

"Ah—that the wound Kagamine has? There's an emergency I need to get to."

"Yes, I can do it."

And with that the nurse gathered a bundle of supplies and brushed passed them, walking briskly. Before she went to disappear down the hall, she turned one last time to ask,

"Are you two related?"

"No," Rin and Len answered simultaneously and firmly.

With one last look of contemplation from the nurse, she turned and rushed away, leaving Rin and Len alone once more. They looked at each other and chuckled for a moment before making their way into the nurse's office. Len limped over to one of the beds and seated himself on the end of it as Rin walked to a cabinet and began sifting through supplies. She came back to Len with a bottle, gauze, and some bandages. Taking a pair of tweezers, she gripped a white gauze and poured some of the liquid from the bottle onto it. Soon after, Len felt a sting on his knee, much different than the pain before, but a painful sting nonetheless.

Ow, ow, ow!"

"Sorry, it's going to hurt a little."

"You could have told me that before you started poking my leg..."

Len continued to wince as Rin dabbed his knee with the gauze. As she concentrated on treating the wound, the two were left in silence. Instead of feeling an awkward atmosphere, however, Len turned to reflection. The three-legged race was finally over. And now that he looked back on it, it passed by in a flash—granted, not finishing the race might have had something to do with it. Even so, Len felt so incredibly relieved, like something was lifted off of him after seemingly being crushed.

Rin glanced up from her work when Len slowly started to chuckle. The soft sounds coming from his throat gradually grew louder until he was in a fit of laughter. Rin stared blankly at him, trying to comprehend the cause of this sudden burst. Rin thought maybe the stress had finally gotten to Len, causing him to snap completely.

"Len... are you okay?" Rin couldn't help but smile from the contagiousness of Len's laugh.

"It's just so funny now!" Len sputtered between chortles.

"What is?"

"This whole three-legged race thing! I was just so stressed over something so simple! It's just so ridiculous now..."

By the time Len had finished talking, he had calmed down a bit and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. A smile still on his face, he lowered his head so that his eyes met directly with Rin's. She gazed back at him as a soft pink color dusted her cheeks. Len may have been fixed up to bring out the potential of his looks, but there was something about his beaming face that seemed so natural which made him look even more handsome than he did before.

"I think..." Rin began, her voice a little small, "That's the first time I've heard you laugh like that."

"R-Really?" Len rubbed the back of his head, "Sorry for being so loud."

"Oh, no!" Rin brushed her fingers against his knee as she applied the bandage, "I didn't mind..."

Len looked to the side to avoid Rin's gaze when he could feel a strange, prickling sensation cover his face. Unknowingly, he had exposed the cheek that had scraped against the track.

"Ah!"

"Hm?"

"Your cheek has some scratches, too. Here, let me get to those."

Then soon after, Len felt a little bit of burning on his cheek.

"Ow!"

"You may have gotten over the three-legged race thing, but you're still the epitome of nerd."

"Hey!" Len pouted, puffing his cheek out.

"Keep still, or this will never get done!"

Sighing, Len consented and kept his head motionless. After finishing with the gauze, Rin took a large bandage in her hand, undid the wrapping and rubbed it against his cheek. The moment she did so, Len felt the tips of her fingers brush the surface of his skin. Her hands were so _soft_. The moment Len realized this, there was more than the prickling sensation in his cheeks. Tenseness taking over him, Len's stomach flipped and his chest felt incredibly tight. It didn't help when he realized how close Rin was to him as well. She must not have fully realized it, however, because Rin had remained the same as before.

"What?"

For someone who spoke so roughly, Rin had an incredibly soft touch...

"Oh, n-nothing..." Len stuttered.

"Dork..." Rin chuckled as she started to put all the supplies away, "Well that's it. We better head back out."

"Y-Yeah..." Len muttered as he slid off of the bed and stood next to Rin.

"Can you walk?"

"Yeah, the bandage makes it feel much better already," Len smiled as he and Rin began making their way towards the door and down the hallway.

Recalling their conversation from a few days ago, Rin could see the reasoning behind what Miku said. And Rin told herself that maybe she was right in putting her trust in Len. Granted, she still felt uncomfortable when guys approached her, but there was something in Len that seemed to make her fear less severe. She couldn't put her finger on it, but all she could hope was that Miku was right.

And then she noticed something...

"Len, where are you going?"

Len flailed around from turning in the wrong direction and went back to his place next to Rin.

* * *

_**A/N: **_**Since I'm the type of person that's big on reflecting on what I read, I'll give you guys a question that you can possibly answer in a review. -wink, wink- But at least think about it.**

_**Question: Why do you think Rin feels so uncomfortable around guys?**_

**Don't be afraid to leave a review! I love reading your thoughtful feedback!**


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